Health Science Chemistry I

CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific Gravity
(Revised 10/11/2012)

Introduction

Density is an important intrinsic quantity used to characterize substances in the laboratory. To
understand density, think of the difference between iron and wood. Some persons would say that
iron is heavier than wood but this is not true; it is easy to imagine a piece of wood that is heavier
than a given piece of iron. The key word here is volume. Iron is denser than wood because a piece
of iron the same size as a piece of wood has greater mass than the wood. Density is defined as mass
per unit volume, expressed algebraically as

m
d
v
= (Equation 1)

In chemistry, g/mL and g/cm
3
are used to express densities of solids and liquids because those units
give convenient numerical values that range from 0.5 to about 20 g/mL. The densities of gases,
which are much lower, are often expressed in g/L to give values close to unity instead of small
decimal fractions. An example of a clearly-done density calculation is:

1.753
0.7968 0.80
2.2
m g g g
d
v mL mL mL
= = =

Equation 1 can be rearranged and solved for either mass or volume:

m V d = (Equation 2)


m
V
d
= (Equation 3)

For instance, if you know the mass and density of a substance, you can calculate the volume a sample
of it occupies. Example: What is the volume of a 25.00 g object with a density of 1.25 g/mL?


25.000
20.0
1.25 /
m g
V mL
d g mL
= = =

Density does not vary with the amount of substance present because an increase in mass is always
accompanied by a proportional increase in volume. The value of the fraction m/V stays the same.
However, density does depend slightly on temperature. A change in temperature has no effect on the
mass of an object since the total amount of matter present does not change. The objects volume,
however, does change when the temperature increases because thermal motion moves molecules
further apart. Therefore, for all three states of matter, an increase in temperature generally causes
density to decrease. A properly reported density value should therefore include the temperature at
which the measurement was made. When no temperature is given for a measured density, assume
room temperature, 20 or 25C.
2
Density
To determine the density of any substance you need both the mass and the volume of a sample. The
mass of any single clean object can be measured on a properly zeroed laboratory balance. The volume
of a regular solid can be determined by measuring its dimensions with a centimeter ruler and inserting
them into the proper volume formula. When an object does not have a regular shape, its volume can be
determined by water displacement if it does not dissolve in or react with water. A simple way to find
the density of an irregular metal solid by water displacement is to fill a graduated cylinder partway
with water, read the water volume and use a balance to find the combined mass of the graduate and
water. After adding the solid to the graduate, the new volume and new mass are read. The volume and
mass of the metal alone are determined by subtraction and inserted into the density formula.

Liquid densities are easily determined by adding the liquid to a preweighed graduated cylinder, reading
the liquid volume and weighing again to get the total mass of graduate and liquid.

Specific Gravity
Specific gravity, a quantity closely related to density, is the ratio of the density of a substance to that
of water. If a substance has a specific gravity less than unity (one) it will float on water. If the
specific gravity is more than unity it will sink. (In some references, such as the Handbook of
Chemistry and Physics, specific gravity is symbolized by D. Do not confuse this with density.)
Specific gravity is given by the expression:


subst
water
d
SpGr
d
= (Equation 4)

Specific gravity has no units since grams/milliliter cancel in the expression. Specific gravity values
are the same whether calculated from metric or English densities since the ratio of the substance
densities remains the same. Since all densities vary with temperature, a specific gravity value must be
accompanied by two temperatures. The upper value is the temperature at which the density of the
substance was measured; the lower value, the temperature at which the density of the water was
measured. Thus, two typical specific gravity values might be written as
20
20
0.790 and
20
4
1.564 .
Specific gravity can be determined by separately measuring the densities of a substance and water and
calculating according to Equation 4. A direct method of determining specific gravity, for liquids
only, uses a special floating device called a hydrometer described in the experimental section.

The choice of temperature at which to measure the density of water merits discussion. As you know,
water is said to have a density of 1.000 g/mL. This is true only at 4C (actually 3.97C). Above and
below that temperature, water expands and has a lower density. Water is unusual in that it expands
below 4C. Most liquids contract until they reach their freezing point and the frozen solid
contracts even more. Water, however, expands below 4C and ice expands even more as it freezes.
That is why ice floats on water. Most other solids sink in their own melt.

If you want the specific gravity to be numerically exactly equal to the density of a substance,
then divide the density by that of water at 4C. Another common choice for the temperature of
water is the same temperature at which the density of the substance was measured, often room
temperature. Here, the density of water is about 0.998 g/mL. This method gives a specific gravity
value numerically slightly higher than the density of the substance.


3
Specific gravity is used to determine the composition of certain solutions. For instance, the specific
gravity of car radiator antifreeze solution increases as the proportion of ethylene glycol increases.
Pure ethylene glycol has a specific gravity of 1.11 and water, 1.00. Mixtures of the two substances
have specific gravity values between the two extremes. To determine the composition of a set of
antifreeze solutions, you might find it convenient to make a graph of the specific gravities of the
solutions versus their per cent compositions. The composition of any solution can then be quickly
found by measuring its specific gravity and interpolating that value on the graph. The same procedure
is used in medical laboratories to find the concentration of sodium chloride in urine. Urine that is too
dilute or too concentrated may indicate disease. The specific gravity of urine is a rapid, convenient
way of checking this.

In this experiment, you will measure the densities of two solids and two liquids and compare your
results to literature or on-line values. You will also measure the specific gravity of two sodium
chloride solutions with a hydrometer and determine their composition from a graph of specific gravity
versus percent composition. Information for this graph is in the CRC Press Handbook of Chemistry
and Physics. See page 5 for instructions on looking up the properties of various aqueous solutions.
The Handbook also lists the physical characteristics of inorganic substances including the all the
chemical elements and many of their salts. To find information for an element in the Handbook, go to
Section 4 (Section B in early editions) and look for the very first entry for that element. For instance,
there are about 30 tungsten compounds listed. Only the first entry is for metallic tungsten itself. The
remaining entries are tungsten compounds. Section 3 (or C) of the Handbook catalogs thousands of
organic (carbon-containing) compounds. For information on a simple unsubstituted compound, look
for the very first entry containing the name you want. Be sure the name has no other information
(functional groups) associated with it. Look in the Handbook index under Water, Density of to find
the section listing densities of water at various temperatures. Densities for many substances are also
found on-line on the Wikipedia site or by entering the substance name into any other search engine.


Experimental

1a) Measurement of a Regular Solid Density
Obtain a metal or wooden rectangular solid and measure its length, width and height with a centimeter
ruler. Zero in a platform balance and determine the mass of the solid.

1b) Measurement of an Irregular Solid Density
Obtain a metal fragment sample in a glass vial and record the metal name. Fill a clean, dry 50 or 100
mL graduated cylinder about halfway with water, place the graduate on a level surface at eye level and
read the water volume. Thoroughly dry the outside of the graduate and weigh it on a platform balance.
Transfer all the metal from the vial to the graduate. Read the total volume of water and metal and
reweigh the graduate on the same platform balance. It is not necessary to zero in the balance
beforehand since any weighing error will cancel out when you subtract the two masses to get the mass
of metal alone. Put the wet metal back into the bottle and return it to the lab supply area with the cap
off. Look up the literature value of your metal density and enter it on the data page.

Measurement of Liquid Densities
Volumetric Pipettes: Volumetric or transfer pipettes are highly accurate devices designed to deliver a
fixed amount of liquid by drainage. By design, a small amount of liquid remains in the pipette tip after
use. The amount delivered is inscribed on the pipette and ranges in whole number amounts from 1 to
100 mL. Small pipettes up to 25 mL can deliver the stated volume to within 0.01 mL. Remember this
4
when considering significant figures in your calculations. Liquid is sucked into the pipette with a bulb
or pump and then allowed to drain out by gravity. Your instructor will demonstrate the use of available
suction devices. Mouth pipetting is never allowed! First, rinse the pipette with the liquid you will be
pipetting and discard the rinse liquid. Then draw the liquid up above the calibration line on the upper
stem and drain it out slowly until the bottom of the meniscus just touches the fill line. Then move the
pipette to the receiving vessel, hold the tip vertically against the inside wall of the receiving vessel and
allow the liquid to drain out. When the draining stops, the pipette has delivered the stated amount of
liquid. Shaking or blowing the pipette to remove residual liquid will result in inaccurate delivery.

Measuring Pipettes: Measuring or graduated pipettes are straight pieces of glass tubing with graduation
marks along their length. They are used when the high precision of a volumetric pipette is not needed.
The advantage of measuring pipettes is that they can deliver any desired volume by draining between two
volumes and subtracting the difference.

To use a measuring pipette, rinse the entire length twice with the liquid you want to dispense and discard
the rinsate. Then fill the pipette to a convenient mark near the top and record that volume. Hold the tip
vertically against the inside wall of the receiving vessel and drain until the desired amount of liquid is
delivered. Read the new or final volume value. The volume delivered is the difference between the initial
and final readings. Like other analog instruments, measuring pipettes are read by estimating between the
marked divisions. In this case, read the pipette by estimating to a tenth of the smallest division.

2a) Distilled Water Density
First Determination of Water Density: Weigh a clean, dry 50 or 100 mL beaker on a platform balance.
(Do not zero in the balance beforehand.) Use a volumetric pipette to dispense 10.00 mL of distilled water
into the beaker according to the directions starting on page 3. Weigh the beaker and water, measure the
water temperature and calculate the water density
Second Determination of Water Density: Weigh a clean, dry 50 or 100 mL beaker on a platform balance.
With a measuring pipette, dispense between 4 and 8 mL of distilled water into the beaker. Weigh the
beaker and water together on the same balance. Measure the water temperature and calculate the density
of the water sample. Remember that the volume delivered is the difference between the initial and final
readings. The actual amount of water you dispense is not important, as long as you measure its volume
and mass correctly. Find a Handbook entry for the density of water at a temperature as close as possible
to your measured water temperature.

2b) Organic Liquid Density Obtain an organic liquid sample and record its name. Weigh a clean
dry 25 ml graduated cylinder on a hanging plan balance. Pour 20 to 24 mL of the organic liquid into
the graduate. Weigh the graduate and liquid on the same balance and read the liquid volume. Using
the same container and the same organic liquid, proceed directly to part 3b and measure the specific
gravity of the liquid. Look up the Handbook density value of your organic liquid.

Measurement of Liquid Specific Gravities
Examine some of the hydrometers available to you. A hydrometer consists of a glass tube weighted at
the bottom so it will float upright. The top part of each tube contains a paper scale calibrated for
specific gravity and marked with two temperatures, the one at which the hydrometer should be used
and the temperature of the water whose density is used as the reference. Be careful reading the
hydrometer scales because some hydrometers omit decimal points or represent them by commas. Most
floating hydrometers are constructed to read some portion of the specific gravity range 0.6 to 1.6.


5
Before you use any hydrometer, study it to decide to what precision it is properly read. The hydrometer
must float freely and it must float so the liquid meniscus crosses the scale at some point. Read the
hydrometer scale at the bottom of the liquid meniscus. Place hydrometers into solutions carefully. In a
solution of low density, a high range hydrometer may plunge to the bottom of the container and break.
The best container for your liquid is a graduated cylinder or a plain glass cylinder without graduations
for better viewing. Sometimes a hydrometer will adhere to the sides of the container. Spinning the
hydrometer before you read it may prevent this.

3a) Measure the specific gravity of distilled water in a 25 or 50 mL graduated cylinder.

3b) Measure the specific gravity of the same organic liquid whose density you measured in part 2b.
You may be able to read the specific gravity in the same 25 mL graduated cylinder used to measure the
liquid mass and volume. After use, disposing of the liquid as organic hazardous waste.

3c) Measure and record the specific gravity of the two unknown sodium chloride solutions assigned to
you. Record the unknown numbers. Use your test tube rack to support two long test tubes for
containing the solutions. Experiment to find the best hydrometer for reading each liquid specific
gravity. Hint: All aqueous sodium chloride solution specific gravity values will be greater than 1.000.
Return the liquids to the laboratory supply area when you are done with them.

For your report, determine the percent composition in the following way: Find the table in the
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics for the specific gravities of water solutions under the entry
"Aqueous Solutions, Concentrative Properties of". You will find one table of 20 to 100 entries for
sodium chloride solutions. Copy 26 or of the entries at 1% intervals to cover the entire concentration
range 1 to 26% NaC1, making sure to include the percent composition (first column) and the
corresponding specific gravity. Note that there may be columns of specific gravity values for two
different sets of temperatures. Choose the set of values whose temperatures more closely approximate
the temperatures printed on your hydrometer. From these data, plot specific gravity vs. percent
composition according to the graphing rules in Experiment 1. Use only the metric graph paper style
specified by your instructor. By interpolation, determine the percent composition of your two
unknown solutions from their measured specific gravities. You will be graded on the quality of your
graph and on how closely you determine and report the percent composition of your unknown
solutions.

Safety
You must wear chemical splash goggles and a waterproof apron from the very beginning to the very
end of the laboratory period. The organic liquids used in this experiment are all flammable and some
are slightly toxic. Dispense them only in a fume hood. Do not breathe their vapors or allow them to
contact your skin.

Disposal
Be sure to dispose of your organic liquid in the organic hazardous waste collection container. Never
pour any organic liquid down the sink drain.

Cleanup
At the end of the laboratory period, wipe down all your work surfaces with a wet sponge.



6
Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Data

1a) Rectangular Solid Sample Number or Description: _________________

Length _______________

Width _______________

Height _______________

Mass _______________



1b) Metal Fragments Metal Name: _______________

Initial Volume (Water alone) _______________

Initial Mass (Graduate with Water) _______________

Final Volume(Water and Metal Sample) _______________

Final Mass (Graduate with Water and Metal Sample) _______________

Literature Value of Metal Density _______________



2a) Distilled Water

First Determination of Distilled Water Density, Use of Volumetric Pipet:

Mass of Beaker _____________

Size of Pipette Used _____________

Volume of Water Dispensed From Pipet _____________

Mass of Beaker and Water _____________

Temperature of Water _____________

Literature Value of Water Density at _______
o
C _____________


7
Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Data

Second Determination of Distilled Water Density, Use of Measuring Pipet:

Mass of Beaker _____________

Size of Pipette Used _____________

Initial Pipette Reading _____________

Final Pipette Reading _____________

Mass of Beaker and Water _____________

Temperature of Water _____________

Literature Value of Water Density at ________
o
C _____________



2b) Organic Liquid Organic Liquid Name: _____________

Mass of Graduate _______________

Organic Liquid Volume _______________

Mass of Graduate and Liquid: _______________

Organic Liquid Temperature _______________

Literature Liquid Density Value _______________



3a) Specific Gravity of Distilled Water


Hydrometer Range _______________

Hydrometer Reading _______________

Distilled Water Temperature _______________



8
Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Data


3b) Specific Gravity of Organic Liquid


Hydrometer Range _______________


Hydrometer Reading _______________


Organic Liquid Temperature _______________




3c) Specific Gravities of Two Unknown Sodium Chloride Solutions

Unknown Sodium Chloride
Solution Number




Hydrometer Range





Hydrometer Reading





Solution Temperature









9

Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Data

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics Specific Gravity Values for Selected Aqueous Sodium
Chloride Solutions.

Edition and Year of Handbook


Handbook Section and Page Number


A (% Comp) D (Sp Gr) A (% Comp) D (Sp Gr)












































10

















































11
Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Report

la) Calculate the density of the rectangular metal object. Show your setup. (2 points)







lb) Calculate the experimental density of your metal fragment sample. Show your setup. Discuss
how well your value compares to the accepted literature value. (2 points)

Metal Name:_________________ Literature Density Value_________________












2a) Calculate the density of distilled water twice, once for each of the two experiments you did.
Show the setups clearly. Discuss how well your experimentally determined density values
compare with the Handbook density value(s) at the same temperature. (4 points)

Literature Density Value for Water _____C: _________________














12
2b) Calculate the experimental density of your organic liquid. Show your setup. Discuss how well
your value compares to the Handbook value. (2 points)

Organic Liquid Name:______________ Handbook Density Value_________________









3a) What is your experimental value for the specific gravity of water as measured with a
hydrometer? Discuss how well it compares to the density value in question 2a. (1 point)









3b) What is your experimental value specific gravity for the organic liquid as measured with a
hydrometer? Discuss how well it compares to the density value in question 2b. (1 point)










3c) Using the Handbook data, make a graph of specific gravity vs. per cent composition for the
aqueous sodium chloride solutions. Attach the graph to this report. (4 points)

3d) By interpolation on your graph, determine the per cent composition of your two unknown NaCl
solutions. (4 points)

Unknown NaCl Solution
Number
Measured Specific Gravity Solution Percent
Composition







13
Health Science Chemistry I
CHEM-1180
Experiment No. 4
Density and Specific. Gravity
Prestudy
1) What is the density of a metal if a piece with a volume of 15.2 cm
3
weighs 40.921 g? Show
your setup. (2 points)







2) What is the density of a liquid if its specific gravity is
20
4
0.875 ? For full credit, clearly show
the proper setup for calculating the answer. (2 points)







3) What is the volume of 175.321 g of a liquid with d =1.570 g/mL? Show your setup.
(2 points)






4) Explain in your own words why specific gravity is a dimensionless (unitless) number.
(1 points)





5) Look up the densities of the three substances on the assignment sheet supplied by your
instructor. You may use any chemical text, the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, available
in libraries or an internet resource such an MSDS website or Wikipedia. Cite the source from
which you obtain each density. Staple the assignment sheet to the back of this prestudy.
(3 points)