GENERAL METHOD OF OBTAINING DENSITY

The respective mass and volume of a solid or liquid should be obtained in order to get its
density, which is the ratio of the mass of a substance to its volume.
The methods in getting the mass of a solid and liquid are similar. The mass of a solid is
obtained by measuring its weight on a scale balance. On the other hand, since liquids can
flow and can only take the shape of its container, the mass of a liquid is obtained by
subtracting the mass of the container from the mass of the container with the liquid
poured into it.
The methods for determining the volume are different for both solids and liquids.
Glassware such as graduated cylinders can be used to measure the volume of a liquid. For
solids with regular or irregular shapes, it is necessary to use a liquid displacement
method, where the volume of the displacing liquid is subtracted from the volume of the
displacing liquid together with the submerged solid.
Having the masses and volumes of the sample given, the density will be now obtained,
simply by dividing the mass by the volume.

PERCENT ERROR
In finding the percent error, the experimental value is subtracted from the accepted
value. The difference is then divided by the accepted value, and the product was
multiplied by 100 and was expressed as a percentage (%).
The students obtained a 1% error in finding the density of water (H2O), an 11% error in
finding the density of ethanol (C2H6O), and a 75. 1 % error in finding the density of the
seashell, which is mainly composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
The causes of making these errors were from inaccurate human readings of the precise
increments on the measuring devices.

WHY NOT?
The method used in Procedure C is not applicable to all solids. In the experiment, the
object is definite in shape and can still be seen in the "mixture".

But there are some solids that are definite in shape, but when submerged into a liquid
(like water) can cause a chemical reaction, releasing other products. Some products can
remain in the system; some products may leave the system (gases).
Also, there are solids in powdered form (like sugar or salt) that when submerged in a
liquid (like water), dissolves and will not cause the liquid to displace.

In finding the densities of these solids, the displacing liquid should have a chemical
property that will make the solid insoluble in it, and will not cause a chemical reaction.
For example like salt, use cooking oil instead of water, since salt is soluble in water but
insoluble in oil.

WATER AS A STANDARD IN DENSITY COMPARISON

When an object is placed in water, the object's relative density determines whether it
floats or sinks. If the object has a lower density than water, it will float to the top of the
water. An object with a higher density will sink.