Measuring Density

Measuring Density

I. Purpose

The purpose of this experiment is to see the difference in density between 3 objects. These objects are: a silver magnet, a copper wire, and a red magnet.

II. Procedure

1. Know the equation to measure Density

2. Measure 5 mL of water into a graduated cylinder

3. Drop items (one by one) into the graduated cylinder

4. Measure the Volume

5. Use a scale to measure the Mass of the object

6. Record data

7. Perform calculations

III. Data and Observations

When we dropped the copper wire, the silver magnet, and the red magnet into the water we observed the water rise and recorded to volume. The volume for the copper wire was 0.2 mL, the volume for the silver magnet was 0.2 mL, and the volume for the red magnet was 1 mL. Then, we placed the three objects onto a scale and measured the mass. The mass for the copper wire was 1.68 g, the mass for the silver wire was 3.01 g, and the mass for the red magnet was 6.98g.

IV. Calculations

In order to measure density, you need the formula Density = Mass/Volume. The silver magnet had a density of 7.252 g/cm3, the copper wire had a density of 8.4 g/cm3, and the red magnet had a density of 6.98 g/cm3.

V. Analysis/Conclusions

In this experiment I learned how to measure density correctly. My partners and I figured out that the copper wire had the greatest density and the red magnet had the least. We did encounter a problem in the experiment where the copper wire density was a lot less than the other two. To fix this we added two more copper wires to increase the amount of density. To improve this experiment, I would use a bigger piece of copper wire so that I wouldn't have to add two more pieces.

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