The Theoretical Density Of The Substances Discussion Paper Physics Lab Report Experiment 3: Mass, Volume, & Density

The theory behind this experiment is that the density of any substance is the ratio of its mass to its real volume. The mass of the substance is constant and cannot change; whereas the volume may change if the substance absorbs heat energy. The theory also holds that two objects of the same shape and size will displace the same volume of water even if their masses (and hence density) are different. Water is a medium that can be used to estimate the volume of a given substance. This is done by measuring the volume of water displaced by the object when immersed in a container of water. This fact was first discovered by the Greek Archimedes (Ryan, 2018). Steel will displace a small volume of water but will have very high density because its mass is great. The measurement of small objects with accuracy is achieved by making use of instruments that have the very least count of the scale. An example is a micrometer screw gauge whose least count is 0.001 cm.

Hypothesis

H1: An object placed or immersed in water will displace an amount of the water equal to its volume.

H2: Two different objects of the same shape and size will displace an equal amount of water and hence possess equal volume, but they will have different densities because of their different masses The Theoretical Density Of The Substances Discussion Paper.

Discussion

This experiment demonstrates that the shape and size of an object determines its volume. It also demonstrates that the amount of water of fluid that an object displaces when submerged in it is equal to its volume. Therefore the mass of the object can be measured and its volume obtained by measuring the volume of water it displaces when immersed in the water. With this, the experimental density of the object can then be calculated with ease using the formula: density =mass/ volume. Since this is an experiment, it is expected that there will be a certain amount of percentage error in the calculation of the experimental density. This may be due to factors such as spillage. This is why there may be a small variance between the experimental density of a substance and its theoretical density.

Conclusion

The results of the experiment prove the hypothesis because the volume of water displaced indeed represented the volume of the immersed object/ substance. The results prove the hypothesis because the experimental density calculated from the displaced water volume and the measured mass was identical to the expected theoretical density of the substances/ objects.

References

Ryan, M. (2018, April 30). The relationship between mass, volume & density. Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/relationship-between-mass-volume-density-6597014.html The Theoretical Density Of The Substances Discussion Paper