Dapp 1

Alex Dapp
September 9, 2014
Mr. Cabotaje
Period 6
Density of Water Lab Report
During the Density of Liquids lab, we learned about density, the physical property that
is the relationship between a substances mass and its volume. The density is the mass of a
substance per unit of volume. The equation that determines the density of a substance is D = m/v.
The common unit that would be used is g/mL or g/cm^3. When the density of the substance is
tested at the same temperature and pressure, all substances have the same density no matter the
size, shape, or quantity. This is why chemists often use density to identify a substance because
density is a characteristic property of matter. In the lab, we calculate the density of tap water in
three samples and calculate the average. Then we calculate the density of an unknown liquid in
three different samples. Lastly, we compare the measured values with the accepted values of the
liquids and use the percent error for the results.
My density average for tap water is 0.95 g/mL, while the density average for the
unknown substance is 1.107 g/mL. When I calculated my percent error, I got .27 percent error on
the density lab. The measured values would always differ from the accepted values because an
experiment is never the same and there is always a type of scientific error in the experiment. If I
could change on how the experiment can be more accurate, I would change on how I would
weigh the unknown substance because I would take the micropipette too quickly before the exact
weight is given.

Dapp 2
If my unknown substance had a density of 0.79 g/mL and I knew that it was one of the
three substances in Table-2 having the density very close to the value, I would determine the
value by figuring out the melting point, freezing point, or boiling point of the liquids. This would
determine the exact solution the unknown liquid is. Also, ice floats on water, which makes the
ice less dense than the water. Since the ice is less dense than the water, water-dwelling organisms
can move around when the temperature is below freezing- point. The organisms can move
around because since the ice floats on top of water, it allows the water-dwelling organisms to
keep on living below the ice. When stating the density of the liquid, temperature is important
because as the temperature increases, the less dense the substance is while the temperature
decreases, the denser the substance is. Since petroleum oil is also less dense than sea water, it
floats. This affects the methods used in cleaning up oil spills in the ocean because than clean up
in oceans can be easier and you dont have to go down into the depths of the ocean to clean up
oil.
The Density of Liquids lab showed me how density can be affected by many things like
mass and volume of a substance and the temperature. Since density is a characteristic property of
matter, the density is always used in science experiments in order to identify the substance. In the
lab, we used density in order to identify the unknown liquid. Because of density, my unknown
liquid I was using turned out to be Ethylene Glycol. Density can be used to measure a substance
by dividing mass to volume. The measurements of the density can be affected by the temperature
because the warmer the temperature, the less dense it is. Density can be applied to anything in
the world from the ice in our drinks to the equipment in our experiments.