MODULE 3

WORKSHEET

INVESTIGATING THE
DENSITY OF WATER AND ICE
EXPERIMENT:

Syllabus reference 8.4.1

INTRODUCTION
There are a number of important properties that assist in identifying elements and pure compounds.
These include density, melting point and boiling point.
The density of a substance is the measure of its compactness and is calculated from the ratio:
density

mass (g)
volume (mL)

In this experiment you will:

a
b

measure the mass of several different volumes of water and use these to calculate the density of water
use a similar procedure to calculate the density of ice.

EQUIPMENT

100 mL beaker
wide diameter measuring cylinder
electronic balance
distilled water
ice cubes (made with distilled water and small enough to fit into the measuring cylinder)
10 mL pipette
forceps or glass rod
thermometer

Part A: Density of water

PROCEDURE
1

Accurately measure the mass of the empty beaker. Record this in the table below.

Add a known volume of distilled water (use the pipette) to the beaker and reweigh. Record this in
the table.

Measure the temperature of the water.

Repeat this procedure until you have at least 5 measurements (use 10 mL increments from the
starting volume). Record all measurements in the table.

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RESULTS
1

Complete the table.

DENSITY OF WATER AT __________________C
TRIAL 1

TRIAL 2

TRIAL 3

TRIAL 4

TRIAL 5

Mass of 100 mL measuring

cylinder (g)
Mass of measuring cylinder
+ water (g)
Mass of water (g)
Volume of water (mL)

On the grid paper below plot the experimental values for volume in mL (horizontal axis) and mass
in g (vertical axis).

Use a ruler to draw the line of best fit which goes through the origin.

The slope of the line is a measure of density. From the graph calculate the slope and hence the
density of water.
density _______________

Record the results of the other groups in the class.

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QUESTIONS
1

How did your value compare with those of the rest of the class?

Suggest possible reasons for variations between groups.

Part B: Density of ice

Design an investigation to calculate the density of ice.
HINT: The volume of solids is often measured using a known mass and submerging it in water (use
forceps or a glass rod to keep your ice cube submerged). The rise in the water level is equal to the
volume of the solid.

PROCEDURE
1

RESULTS
DENSITY OF ICE (g/cm3)
TRIAL 1

TRIAL 2

TRIAL 3

TRIAL 4

TRIAL 5

Mass of sample (g)

Volume of sample (mL)

Density (g/mL)

Copyright 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia

CONQUERINGCHEMISTRY PRELIM

MODULE 3 WS 1

QUESTIONS
1

Calculate the average density from your trials.

Did you expect the density of ice to be less than or greater than that of water? How did your
experimental results compare with your expectation?

How did your value compare with those of other groups in the class?

Discuss any difficulties you encountered with this investigation. What errors may have occurred?
How could you improve on this investigation?

Copyright 2008 McGraw-Hill Australia

CONQUERINGCHEMISTRY PRELIM

MODULE 3 WS 1