Mass and Density

Objective: The objective of the lab was to find the mass, volume, density, dimensions

such as height, length, and width also, to find the dimensional and displacement percent

difference. I got the mass of each object by using the scale measurements. To get the volume of

each object I used the graduated cylinder displacement. Density is the amount of matter in an

object per unit volume. Density ranges from very low values for gases to very high values for

solids. The standard for determining density values is water

Measuring the mass and the volume of the objects and identifying the relationship between

size/shape, density and the dimensions of an object. Students will use their knowledge of

graduated cylinder displacement to find the volume. Students will use Archimedes Principle to

find these calculations.

Method: I identified the density of the cylinders and the mineral by getting the mass.

Calculate density from measuring the volume. We used a ruler to get diameter of the cylinder

and all other measurement.

We added water to a graduated cylinder. Record the volume to the nearest. 2. Determine the

mass of the cylinder and water to the nearest 0.001 g and record. 3.

Add a sufficient quantity of the metal to the cylinder and water to increase the volume of the

water by at least. Record the new volume. 4.

Determine the new mass of the cylinder, water, and metal and record.

Physical principle and laws tested and used:

V= ((3.14) (d^2) (H))/4 Volume of a Cylinder

V= W*L*H Volume of a Block

Archimedes Principle

D=M/V

Percent Error= (|Measurement Error|/Average Value) *100%

Percent Difference= (|Standard Value – Experimental Value|) *100%

Using metric ruler or Vernier caliper, I made the necessary measurements to calculate the

volume of the volume of the regular bodies.

Tools used

 Electronic balance

 Vernier caliper or metric ruler

 Assorted metallic cylinder

 Aluminum bar

 Wooden block

 Irregular shaped object (mineral/rock sample)

 250ml graduated cylinder

As this experiment was not perfect, there were several sources of error which could have affected

the results of our experiment. Errors were made in my calculations; we did not read the

graduated cylinder at eye level (random error). This caused our volume measurements to be

lower, making our density higher than normal. Since we dropped some of our pieces into the

graduate, some water splashed out of the top of the graduate (random). This caused our volumes

to be lower than they should have been, causing our densities to go up. These are errors were not

made intentionally and those errors caused the calculations to be wrong.