LAB 4: DETERMINATION OF THE VISCOSITY OF MOTOR OILS BY THE

FALLING-SPHERE METHOD
DATE: October 22, 2021
NAMES: Dewen Gordon (2101691)
Gianluca Webster (1807888)
COURSE NAME: GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1 LABORATORY
SCHOOL: UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, JAMAICA
LAB INSTRUCTOR: DR. CONIEL ROYE

Data Collection:

Table 1: Falling sphere experiment for 10W-30 motor oil

Mass of sphere (g) 5.1653

Diameter of sphere (mm) 21.52

Diameter of cylinder (mm) 76.63

Height of Liquid (cm) 41.3

Distance between A & B (cm) 29.5

Temperature of oil (℃) 27.4

Average time (s) 3.46

Mass of 10.0 mL of fluid (g) 8.2562

Table 2: Falling sphere experiment for 5W-30 motor oil

Mass of Sphere (g) 5.1720

Diameter of Sphere (mm) 21.75

Diameter of Cylinder (mm) 76.65

Height of Liquid (cm) 42.9

Distance between A & B (cm) 25.5

Temperature of oil (℃) 27.2

Average time (s) 3.644

Mass of 10.0 mL of fluid (g) 8.0107

Table 3: Falling sphere experiment for 20W-50 motor oil

Mass of sphere (g) 5.1359

Diameter of the sphere (mm) 21.91

Diameter of the Cylinder (mm) 76.62

Height of Liquid (cm) 41.3

Distance between A & B (cm) 34.5

Temperature (0C) 27.0

Average time (s) 15.21

Mass of 10.0 mL of fluid (g) 8.2655

Calculations:

10W-30 Motor Oil

Determine x
Diameter sphere = 21.52mm to m
= 21.52 / 1000
= 0.02152m

Cylinder diameter = 76.61mm to m

= 76.61 / 1000
= 0.07661m

Therefore x = 0.02152m / 0.07663m

= 0.2808

Determine y

Diameter sphere = 0.02152m

Total liquid height = 41.28cm / 1000 its 100 and not 1000
= 0.0428m

Therefore y = 0.02152m / 0.0428m

= 0.5028

Volume

Vol = 4/3 × 3.14 × 0.000001246

= 0.00000522m3

Density of sphere = m/V

= 0.005165 Kg / 0.00000522m3
= 989.5 Kg/m3

Density of Liquid
Mass = 8.2561g / 1000
= 0.008256Kg

cm3 to m3 = 10cm3 / 1000000

= 0.00001m3

Therefore, density of liquid = 0.008256Kg / 0.00001m3

= 825.6Kg / m3

Difference in density = 989.5 Kg/m3 - 825.6Kg / m3

= 163.9Kg / m3

Viscosity = (2 × 9.81) × 0.010762m3 ×163.9Kg / m3 × 3.49s / (9 × 0.2947) × [1 + (2.4 × 0.2808)]

× [1 + (1.65 × 0.5211)]
= 1.47Kgm-1 s-1
5W-30 Motor Oil

Determine x

Diameter sphere = 21.75 mm to m

= 21.75/1000
= 0.02175m

Cylinder diameter = 76.65 mm to m

= 76.65/1000
= 0.07665m

Therefore x = 0.02175m/0.07665m
= 0.2838

Volume

Vol = 1.286×10-6×3.14×4/3
= 5.38×10-6 m3

Determine y

Diameter sphere = 0.02175m

Total liquid height = 42.9cm/100

= 0.429m

Therefore y = 0.02175m/0.429m
= 0.0507

Density of sphere = m / V
= 0.005172Kg / 0.00000538m3
= 961.34Kg / m3

Density of liquid = 0.0080187Kg / 0.00001m3

= 801.8Kg / m3

Difference = 961.34Kg / m3 - 801.8Kg / m3

= 159.54Kg / m3

Viscosity = (2 × 9.81) × 0.0108752m3 ×159.54Kg / m3 × 3.639s / (9 × 0.255) × [1 + (2.4

×0.2838)] × [1 + (1.65 ×0.0507)]
= 1.08Kgm-1 s-1
20W-50 Motor Oil

Determine x

Diameter sphere = 21.91 mm to m

= 21.91/1000
= 0.02191m

Cylinder diameter = 76.62mm to m

= 76.65/1000
= 0.07662m

Therefore x = 0.02191m/0.07662m
= 0.2860

Determine y

Diameter sphere = 0.02191m

Total liquid height = 41.3cm/100

= 0.413m

Therefore y = 0.02191m/0.413m
= 0.0531

Volume

Vol = 1.315×10-3×3.14×4/3
= 5.50×10-6

Density of sphere = m / V
= 0.0051377Kg / 0.00000550m3
= 934.12Kg / m3

Density of liquid = 0.0082655Kg / 0.00001m3

= 826.55Kg / m3
Viscosity = (2 × 9.81) × 0.0109552 × 107.57 × 15.21 / (9 × 0.345) × [1 + (1.65 × 0.0531)] × [1 +
(2.4 ×0.2860)]
= 0.22Kgm-1 s-1

Exercise:

1. Motor oils rank base on increase in viscosity

 20w-50 motor oil
  10w-30 motor oil
 5w-30 motor oil

2. Viscosity is generally known as the measurement of thickness or fluid resistance.

Viscosity is affected by heat where some oils are denser than some at a lower temperature
and where some oils easily thin out at high temperature. In motor oil viscosity at high
temperature causes a lower oil consumption by the machine.

3. Highlight three (3) major sources of errors in this experiment

● It was assumed that the temperature was kept constant for all trials, if this was not so,

then, it would have led to an error in the calculation since viscosity of the liquid is

affected by temperature.

● To retrieve the sphere after each trial, a large spoon was used and so a small amount of

oil may have been removed thus the height of the liquid did not remain constant.

● Third error is human error where the vernier caliber only reads in (mm) where the correct

unit of measurement is meters and inaccurate calculation may result in the conversion.

4. List three (3) ways in which the accuracy of your results could be improved

 Ensure that the temperature is kept at constant for each trial

 Ensure that the sphere is held perpendicular to the surface of the fluid

 One way to improve the accuracy of the experiment is to properly calibrate the vernier
caliper.