Liquid Density

John Paulo R. Tumala

B.S Chemical Engineering
Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro,
Philippines



Angelyn L. Gales
B.S Chemical Engineering
Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro,
Philippines



Shaira L. Betonio
B.S. Chemical Engineering
Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro,
Philippines
The specific gravity, or relative density, helps in
determining the density of the unknown substance from
the known density of another. In this experiment, the
known density of water is used to make possible upon
obtaining the relative density of the unknown liquid with
the use of the Westphal Balance and Hydrometer. The
unknown liquid was later found out to be isopropyl
alcohol.

Keywords- density, specific gravity, Westphal Balance,
Hydrometer
I. INTRODUCTION
The difference between density and specific gravity is that
one is a ratio of the other. Density is the measure of the
amount of mass per volume. Specific Gravity is a measure of
density relative to the density of a reference substance. The
reference material could be anything, but in this experiment,
the reference material is water in order for the earlier
calculations will then be easy to acquire. The principle behind
the determination of densities or specific gravities of
substances is the principle of Archimedes, where it states that,
Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is
bouyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced
by the object. The principle allows the volume of an object to
be measured by measuring the volume of the liquid it
displaces after submerging, and the bouyancy of an object
immersed in a liquid to be calculated [1].

Operation of the hydrometer is based on Archimedes
principle that a solid suspended in a fluid will be bouyed up by
a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the
submerged part of the suspended solid. Thus, the lower
density of the substance, the farther the hydrometer will sink
[2].

The Westphal Balance, employing Archimedes principle,
measures the change in weight of a solid object of known
volume on immersion in an unknown liquid. In a gradient
column, the density is a function of the vertical position in the
tube. The Westphal balance method may be applied to the
gradient column, provided that the sinker is very small and
symmetrical, so that the measured density can be assigned to a
given level [3].

The following equation is used for the calculation of
Density and Specific Gravity:

II. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
In the first part of experiment 1A, the conductors will use
the Westphal Balance, a direct-reading instrument for
determining the densities of solids and liquids [4]. A 5 gm
mass is placed on the hook holding the plummet, and the
screw on the foot is adjusted until the index pointer on the end
of the beam lines up with the point on the frame. The plummet
is then completely immersed in the unknown liquid, and the
system is rebalanced, using a series of riders on the nine
equally paced notches on the beam, thus giving the value of
the added mass for each decimal place. This gives the bouyant
force of the liquid relative to water, and hence the specific
gravity, which may be obtained to four decimal places [5].
This was done first with distilled water followed by the
unknown liquid.

In the second part of experiment 1A, a hydrometer is used
as the instrument to measure the specific gravity of the
unknown liquid. A hydrometer is usually made of glass and
consists of a cylindrical stem and a bulb weighted with
mercury or lead shot to make it float upright. The liquid to be
tested is poured into a tall container, often a graduated
cylinder, and the hydrometer is gently lowered into the liquid
until it floats freely. The point at which the surface of the
liquid touches the stem of the hydrometer is noted.
Hydrometers usually contain a scale inside the stem, so that
the specific gravity can be read directly [2].



III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

For determining the density of a substance using the
Westphal Balance, calculating the density of groups unknown
liquid relative to water, the following formula used is:

Where:

density of unknown liquid at temperature, t C,

average of the three readings

density of water at temperature, t C

= equilibrium rider moment in unknown liquid

= equilibrium rider moment in water
The equilibrium rider moment values where obtain
by subtracting reading when plummet is balanced in air from
the reading when plummet is submerged and averaging three
readings. Thus these values where obtained:

= 0.9957 g/cm
3
@ 30C

= 0.7845

= 0.9990

Thus density of unknown (

) is computed by rearranging the

equation and obtaining a value of 0.7839 g/cm
3
.

For determining the density of a substance using the
hydrometer, the average value of the three readings is
obtained. The reading is equal to the specific gravity of the
unknown liquid relative to water thus multiplying it with the
density of water (at 4C) will give the density of the substance
which is 0.782 g/cm
3
.

Percentage error is calculated by:


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Table 1. Percentage error
Instrument Percentage error
Westphal Balance 0.267%
Hydrometer 0.509%

The densities obtained from the experiment were close to the
theoretical value of density of isopropyl alcohol (0.7860
g/cm
3)
. The percent error determined is 0.267% for Westphal
balance while 0.509% for hydrometer. Comparing the
percentage error for Westphal balance and hydrometer, one
can infer that the Westphal balance is more accurate compared
to the hydrometer.

IV. ERROR ANALYSIS

The Westphal Balance is incapable of highly accurate
density readings, as large temperature ranges in laboratories
can affect is ability to duplicate results, and the alignment of
its pointers is based on human sight and therefore full of
potential for human error. Human error in reading and
recording and instrumental error are possible sources of error
in using the hydrometer.

V. CONCLUSION
In this experiment, direct measurement of the specific
gravities of water as the reference material and the unknown
liquid is attained through the usage of Westphal balance and
hydrometer. The unknown liquid is identified as isopropyl
alcohol with respect to the results of Part A and Part B with
the value of 0.7839 g/cm
3
and 0.782 g/cm
3
respectively. The
percentage error yielded 0.267% and 0.509% respectively
from the actual value based on the theoretical value of
isopropyl alcohol of 0.7860 g/cm
3
. The Westphal balance has
a better accurate reading compared to the hydrometer.

REFERENCES

[1]en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes_principle
Date accessed: July 6, 2014

[2]en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrometer
Date accessed: July 6, 2014

[3]pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ac60066a049?journalCode=a
ncham Date accessed: July 6, 2014

[4]encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Westphal+Balance
Date accessed: July 6, 2014

[5]physics.kenyon.edu/EarlyApparatus/Fluids/westphal_balan
ce/Westphal_balance.html Date accessed: July 6, 2014

APPENDICES

Table 2. Known Densities of various liquids at 30C (source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki)
Substance Density (g/cm
3
)
Isopropyl Alcohol 0.7860
Methanol 0.7918
Ethanol 0.7890
t-butyl alcohol 0.7750
Isoamyl alcohol 0.8104
n-butanol 0.8022





Table 3. Westphal Balance Reading
Reading M(unknown) M(water)
1 0.7865 0.9991
2 0.7865 0.9989
3 0.7864 0.9990
Average 0.7865 0.990


Table 4. Hydrometer Reading

Reading Sp. Gr. (Unknown)
1 0.782
2 0.784
3 0.780
Average 0.782


Sample Calculations

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