Gabrielle Malin

Mrs. Courtney & Mrs. Miller

October 12, 2016
1A
Density of Aluminum
Introduction: The purpose of this lab is to determine the density of aluminum by
measuring multiples samples of aluminum. Another purpose of this experiment is
to understand the meaning and significance of the density of a substance. Density
is a basic physical property of a homogeneous substance; it is an intensive property,
which means it depends only on the substance's composition and does not vary
with size or amount. The determination of density is a nondestructive physical
process for distinguishing one substance from another. Density is the ratio of a
m mass
substance's mass to its own volume. d= = Density is measured in g/mL
V volume
or g/cm3.
Procedure: First, determine the mass of each aluminum sample with the electric
scale and record them in the data table properly. Next fill the 10 mL graduated
cylinder to the 5.00 mL mark and record the initial volume (precise measurements
are not necessary, just that the measurement is accurate). Then, drop the
aluminum sample in the cylinder and record the new volume as the final volume.
Repeat the process until all samples have been analyzed. Dry each sample and
clean the lab table.
The materials used in this lab will be an electronic scale, a 10 mL graduated
cylinder, 7 aluminum samples and tap water.
No safety information necessary for this lab.
Observations: The aluminum pieces were all about the same size and shape and
were a bright silver color. When dropped into the graduated cylinder, the water did
not move much, implying that the volume of the samples was very small.
Data Analysis/Graphs:

Initial Volume of
Final Volume
Sample Mass (g) Volume metal (cm3
(mL)
(mL) or mL)
Sample 1 0.56 5.27 5.00 0.27
Sample 2 0.56 5.29 5.00 0.29
Sample 3 1.07 5.59 5.00 0.59
Sample 4 0.52 5.19 5.00 0.19
Sample 5 0.21 5.13 5.00 0.13
Sample 6 0.23 5.21 5.00 0.21
Sample 7 0.15 5.20 5.00 0.20
 Mass vs. Volume of Aluminum
1.2

1 f(x) = 1.83x - 0.03

R = 0.89
0.8

0.6
Mass (g)
0.4

0.2

0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

Volume (mL)

Calculations:

Discussion:

1. What does the slope of your graph represent? Density of aluminum

2. Calculate experimental densities:

a. Using your graph, calculate the slope from two points on your line.
Report your experimental density of aluminum from the graph. Show
all calculations. Do not use actual points that you plotted to calculate
the slope.
y 2 y 1 0.150.56
slope= = =5.86 g/cm 3
x 2x 1 0.20.27

b. Report your experimental density of aluminum based on the linear

regression.
Experimental density is 1.83 g/cm3.
3. The accepted (theoretical) value for the density of aluminum is 2.70 g/cm3
.
 experimental valuetheoretical value
error = 100
theoretical value
a. Calculate the percent error for the density of aluminum using
your graphing results.
(1.83-2.70)/2.70*100 = 33.2% too low
b. Calculate the percent error of for the density of aluminum using
your linear regression results.
(1.83-2.70)/2.70*100 = 33.2% too low
4. A similar experiment was performed using lead the following linear
equation was determined: Mass = 11.45 (volume) 2.294. What is the
density of lead with proper units?
Since density of a sample is the slope of a line, and y = mx +b where mass is
y and volume is x. The density of lead will be 11.45 g/cm3.
5. Using the density from the equation in question 4, what would be the
volume of lead with a mass of 23.5 g?
If mass is 23.5 g and density is 11.45 g/cm3, then the volume will be
mass/density, so, 2.05 cm3. If solved from the equation in question 4, the
volume will be 1.85 cm3.
6. Using the density from the equation in question 4, what would be the
mass of a block of lead with dimensions 12.3 cm x 14.8 cm x 10.9 cm?
The volume will be 1984.236 cm3. The mass would be density multiplied by
volume. The mass is 22720 g, or 22700 g to the correct number of
significant figures.
7. Write a conclusion statement that includes the two values for the density
of aluminum and their respective percent errors. Which gave better
results, graphing or results? Write a brief statement about why you think
that method gave a better result?
From the data, the first sample had a density of 2.07 g/cm3 with a percent
error of 23.3% too low. Sample 4 however, had a density of 2.72 g/cm3 with
a percent error of 0.741% too high. I believe we were more precise in our
measurement of the volume by the time we got to sample. Graphing gives a
better result because it takes of the numbers and averages them to make
the slope that fits the points measured in lab.
Conclusion: The purpose of this lab was to find the density of aluminum, given
multiple samples. Determining the mass and volume of each sample allowed the
density to be calculated. All objectives were met in this lab and the calculations
were acceptable. There was some percent error that was caused by misuse of a
graduated cylinder.