Date: 1st July, 2014

Name of the experiment: Density of oil.

Name of the Student: Balaji V.
Introduction:
The density of any given substance is the mass per unit volume. So, the density
changes with the change in mass and volume. The density of oil is the mass of oil present per
unit volume. Density of oil doesnt depend on the temperature, pressure and nature of oil.
The density of a particular material does not change with change in gravity as there
is no change in mass of the material or the volume.

The density of oil=

mass of the oil

volume of the oil

The units of density are g/ml (gram per millilitre)

Research Question:
How does mass of oil depend on volume of the oil taken ?
Hypothesis:
From the formula it can be predicted that the mass of oil is directly linearly proportional to
the volume of oil
Mass of oil volume of oil.

Variables:
Independent variable: volume of the oil taken in the measuring cylinder measured in ml - V
Dependent variable: mass of the oil measured in gram - M
Controlled variable(s): Temperature=34C
Pressure:1 atm
Material of oil: castor oil

Apparatus:
MATERIAL

QUANTITY

RANGE

LEAST

UNCERTAINITY

Measuring

0ml-10ml

COUNT
0.20ml

0.10ml

cylinder
Electronic

1ml-100ml

0.001ml

0.001ml

balance
Oil
Beaker
Diagram:

Procedure:
1. Take a measuring cylinder of 10ml capacity.
2. Weigh the empty cylinder and note down the reading.
3. Pour 1 ml of castor oil into the jar and measure the weight.
4. It should be ensured that the upper meniscus of the oil in the cylinder touches the
measurement mark(because castor oil is coloured liquid.)
5. Then add 1ml more to the same and take the reading.
6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 till you get 8-10 readings.
7. 8 readings are taken because the cylinder is of 10ml capacity.
8. Now subtract the weight of empty cylinder from all the readings taken.
9. Divide the mass with volume.
Raw data:
Mass of the measuring Cylinder = mo= 7.60 g.
Obs.n

Volume of oil(V0.25ml)

o
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Mass of oil+cylinder

Mass of oil(M)=

Density=Mass/volume

(m0.001g)

(m-mo)0.002g
1.118
1.948
2.729
3.72
4.85
5.86
7.23
8.435

=M/V g/ml
1.12
0.97
0.91
0.93
0.97
0.98
1.03
1.05

8.718
9.548
10.329
11.32
12.45
13.46
14.83
16.035

Processed data
Data was processed by using MS Excel.
volume of

mass of oil

density of

oil

oil(d)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

1.118
1.948
2.729
3.72
4.85
5.86
7.23
8.435
average
error

1.12
0.97
0.91
0.93
0.97
0.98
1.03
1.05
1.00

Calculations
Mass of oil without beaker (M) = m-mo
Density of oil = mass / volume
Average of density of oil (d) = 1.00 g/m3
Absolute error
Density of oil- density on each run
daverage d
d
Average of absolute error= d/8
=0.056
= 0.06 g/m3
Error % = d/daverage * 100
=0.056/1.00*100
=5.585
=5.59%
Graph 1

0.12
0.03
0.09
0.07
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.05
0.06
5.59

Graph 2

Conclusion:
Hypothetical Conclusion:
It is observed that the hypothesis meets with the results of the experiment that is it is found
that the mass of oil is directly linearly proportional to oil.
Though the best-fit line does not pass through the origin. The difference is 0.6638 that si the
y-intercept. This is due to the systematic error.
Precision:
However the experimental observations are not precise because there was an error percentage
of about 6% which is high and even that the values are not consistent ranging between 0.51.5. This shows that the values that have been observed are not precise.
Accuracy:
The true value of the density is 0.969.i
Comparing the true value and the observed value and getting the error:
Error=

True valueobserved value

100
True value

= |0.969-1.000/0.969 * 100|
= 0.031/0.969*100
=3.19%
The values that have been obtained give an accurate answer as the value of error is not high.
The slope:
The slope of the graph of best-fit line is 0.9190. This is the density of the oil. But the
difference in the slope from the true value is due to the systematic error.
Evaluation:
Precision:
The error in precision is due to the following reasons:
1. Imperfection in taking correct volume of oil
2. Misreading scales
3. Human parallax error
4. Vibrations and air conventions
5. Seeing that the level of oil has reached the mark equivalent to lower miniscule
Accuracy:

The error in accuracy is due to the following reasons:

1. Badly made or badly calibrated instruments.
2. Poorly timed actions and measuring the volume.
Improvements:
In the above experiment I have taken eight readings but it would have been much more
accurate and much and much more precise.
I would get much more precise observations if much more care would have been taken in
seeing the upper meniscus while doing the experiment.

"Liquids and Fluids - Specific Gravities - SG." Liquids and Fluids - Specific Gravities - SG. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.html<http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-gravity-liquid-fluidsd_294.html>
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