General Chemistry Experiment No.

1 | Measurement
Group Number: _____ Group Name: ________________________
Name Signature
Leader
Asst. Leader
Members

Objectives
 Obtain measurements using various instruments.
 Show the importance of significant figures in the context of measurement.
 Calculate parameters from measurements.
Materials (with asterisk should be reserved on the apparatus reservation slip,
with cross should be reserved on the chemical reservation slip; no symbols
means that you need to bring those materials yourself)
 Standard Ruler
 Meterstick*
 Laptop with Microsoft Excel application
 Triple Beam Balance*
 Watch glass / Petri dish*
 50 mL Graduated Cylinder*
 Distilled water
 Mossy Zinc†
Procedure
 Length
 Using a standard ruler, measure the dimensions (length and width) of a
regular shape that will be assigned by your instructor. Each member should
measure and record the dimensions five times, making sure that the data is
not compromised (e.g. just copying your previous measurements, using
marks while measuring). Repeat the measurements but this time using the
meterstick as the measuring device.
 After a member has done all the repetitions, obtain the average
measurements for each dimension, and the area of the shape using these
average measurements. Compute also for the standard deviation of the
measurements [will be discussed in the class while the experiment is being
held].
 In Excel, tally up all the average dimensions, standard deviations and areas
of all members. Create a bar graph (with the standard deviations as error
bar values for both positive and negative errors) for each dimension, and for
the area. Compute also the average dimensions and area of the group, and
of the whole class for comparison [will be discussed in the class while the
experiment is being held].
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  Density
 Weigh a clean, dry 50 mL graduated cylinder and record this mass.
 Add ~20 mL of distilled water, record the volume and then weigh and record
the mass of the cylinder with water.
 Verify the density of your water by computing it using your data.
 Obtain about 2 - 3 pieces of mossy zinc and contain in your watch glass /
petri dish. Be sure that your sample is dry before using.
 Carefully insert the mossy zinc pieces in the cylinder with water. Record the
volume of the water level, and then weigh and record the mass of the
cylinder with water and mossy zinc.
 Compute for the density of the mossy zinc using the data that you have
obtained.
 Repeat this process until you have five repetitions and obtain the average
values and standard deviation. Tally the values in Excel and create bar
graphs for the densities of water and mossy zinc. Obtain also the average
densities for the whole class and compare with the accepted values of these
densities.
(Attach your data print outs [tables and graphs] between this page and the next.)

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Guide Questions
 If you saw a data that has almost zero deviation, would you trust the data? Why
or why not?
- Standard deviation is one of two main factors contributing to the reliability of
the population mean. This reliability is often quantified as the standard error
(SE) of the mean, which is equal to the standard deviation (σ) divided by the
square root of the sample size (n).
- If you are comparing two normally-distributed variables on the same
measurement scale then yes, you can regard the standard deviation as an
indicator of how reliable the mean is--the smaller the standard deviation, the
better able you are to "zero in" on the actual population mean.
- But if your variables are not normally distributed then it becomes trickier. For
unimodal distributions, the "reliability" of a population mean depends on the
degree to which the distribution is symmetric. For symmetric and unimodal (i.e.
Gaussian) distributions the mean is a very useful measure of central tendency.
As a unimodal distribution becomes more skewed, the mean is increasingly
sensitive to "outliers" in the direction of the skew and thus becomes less
reliable. For skewed distributions the median is a more reliable measure of
central tendency. In normal distributions the mean and median are equal. I
suppose that the difference between the mean and median might in some cases
be a kind of rote measurement of the "reliability" of the mean.

 The density experiment is an application of the Archimedes’ principle. Explain this

principle in your own words.

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  Let’s say you want to obtain the density of table sugar (sucrose). The problem is
that it is soluble in water. How could you modify the experiment so that it is
possible to obtain the density of sucrose?

Work Delegation
For the leader: Summarize in this sheet (add additional sheets if necessary) the
assigned tasks of each member and its compliance. Remember that any fraud or
negligence done in this evaluation would have a negative impact to you, or your
members. A good leader is not a dictator, giving orders without doing anything. A good
leader is not a martyr either, doing everything without delegating work.

Leader Name:
Leader Task/s % Completion % Satisfaction

Assistant Leader Name:

Assistant Leader Task/s % Completion % Satisfaction

Member Name:
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Member Name:
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Member Name:
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Member Name:
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Member Name:
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