Density Lab Conclusion ‘The purpose of the lab was to determine the density of solids with @ regular shape, an irregular shape, and a liquid. Density is a derived unit that measures the amount of matter in a given “unit of volume. Density is an intensive property, which is a physical property that is independent of the amount of material present, The formula for density is density=mass/volume (O=m/v). Inthe lab, the mass was measured in grams and the volume was measured in cm’. ‘The procedure for determining the density of a given material changes depending on. the type of material being used. A geometric formula is used to determine the density of a regularly shaped solid. Every regularly shaped solid has a corresponding geometric formula that calculates density regardless of the dimensions of the regularly shaped solid. in the lab, the regularly shaped solid was a cylindrically shaped steel alloy (letter A), so the geometric formula used to calculate density was D=mass ‘J (nh). Using this formula, the experimental density of the regularly shaped geometric object in the lab was 8.9 g/ml and the percent error was 1.1%. The density ofa liquid is determined using direct measurements. By using direct measurements, the experimental density of the unknown liquid in the lab, which was ethyl alcohol (letter A), was 0.77 g/ml and the percent error was 2.53%. The density of the water was 1.05 g/ml and the percent error was 5.00%,Voltime displacement is used to determine the density of irregularly shaped solids. Irregularly shaped solids cannot be directly measured to determine density because direct measurements only determine the density of liquids. One must mass the irregular solid and place the icregular solid in a graduated cylinder filled with 2 recorded amount of water. Then, the new level of the water is recorded after the irregular solid is placed into the graduated cylinder. This produces a difference between volumes. The difference between the original level of water and the new level of water is the volume of the irregular solid. Following the volume displacement method, the experimental density of the irregular solid in the lab, which was zinc (letter A), was 2.34 g/mL and the percent error was 66.8%, The percent error when determining the density of the regularly shaped geometric object (steel alloy, letter A} was 1.1%, which could have been a result of the metal reacting with the air to form a compound through oxidation. If oxidation occurred, the regularly shaped sample was no Jonger a pure metal. Thus, the accepted density of the pure metal would not correspond to the density of the oxidized sample, The oxidized sample would have a larger mass and therefore have a higher experimental density than 2 pure sample because the Increase in mass results in a higher density value when substituted into the equation Vv. The percent error when determining the density of the unknown liquid was 2.53%, which is mainly due to uncertainty when reading the measurements in the graduated cylinder. The irregularly shaped solid was identified as zinc in the lab. The sample's theoretical density was 7.04 g/mL while the experimental density was 2.34 g/mL. The percent error when determining the density of the irregularly shaped solid, 66.8%, was the highest of all percent errors in the lab. This percent error in determining density could have occurred due of a number of faults. The air was not removed from the irregular solid while the irregular solid was in the graduated cylinder, which would increase the volume of the sample. If the sample size was too small, using the volume displacement method would not produce significant data. The units marked on the graduatedcylinder may not have been precise enough to record @ meaningful difference in water levels. Also, the graduated cylinder may have been filled above the measured area, which would change the density of the sample.