Experiment of Density

Experiment 1.6: Determination of Density

Abstract:

The purpose of the experiment was to determine if density is an intensive or extensive property of matter. The experiment proves that density is an intensive property. The density of an object remains the same no matter how much of it is present. The density is an intensive property because mass and volume changes at the same rate. Introduction:

This experiment was designed to determine if density is an intensive or extensive property. The density of an object is found by dividing its mass by its volume. The volume of a regular shaped object can be measured with a ruler. The volume of an irregular shaped object can be measured by putting it in water and figuring out the displacement the object creates. An intensive property is a property that remains the same when the size of the sample is changed. An extensive property is a property that changes when the size changes. Hypothesis:

If the volume of a sample objects changes, then the density will stay the same because density is an intensive property. Materials and Methods:

The materials used in this experiment are an electronic balance, graduated cylinder, and paper clips. The electronic balance was compact scale that measured the mass in grams. The graduated cylinder was filled with water. The paper clips were an irregular shaped object. The mass of the paper clips was found using the electronic balance. The volume was found by measuring the displacement that was created by the paper clips.

Results:

The mass of 5 paper clips is 5.0 grams. Its volume is 1.0 milliliters. Its volume is 5g/mL. Although when more paper clips were added to the graduated cylinder, the density remained the same. This is because the mass also increased at the same ratio as the volume. Because of this the density of 9 and 13 paper clips is also 5g/mL.

(special credit: eric wuu)