MEASUREMENT OF

MASS AND VOLUME

OBJECTIVES:
AT THE END OF THE DISCUSSION,
THE STUDENTS/OUR CLASSMATES
SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE
DIFFERENT LABORATORY
EQUIPMENT COMMONLY USED ON
MEASURING MASS AND VOLUME

MEASUREMENT OF MASS

TRIPLE BEAM
BALANCE

WHAT IS TRIPLE
BEAM BALANCE?

IT MEASURES THE MASS AND

NOT THE WEIGHT OF AN

OBJECT.
IT IS ONE WEIGHING DEVICE,
WHICH ALLOW THE USER TO
ACCURATELY GAUGE THE MASS
OF AN OBJECT IN GRAMS.

IT CAN PROVIDE HIGHER

ACCURACY THAN A SPRINGBASED MEASURING SCALE, AND

HAS AN ERROR MARGIN FOR
ONLY 0.05 gm. THEREFORE, IT
IS PRIMARILY USED AS A
LABORATORY APPARATUS.

PARTS OF A TRIPLE
BEAM BALANCE:

BASE AND PAN

THE SOLID METAL PLATFORM WHICH
SUPPORTS THE REST OF THE PARTS OF
THE TRIPLE BEAM BALANCE IS KNOWN AS
THE BASE.
THE PAN IS LOCATED ON ONE SIDE OF
THE APPARATUS AND RESTS ON TOP OF
THE BASE. IT IS WHERE THE OBJECT TO
BE WEIGHED IS PLACED.

ADJUSTMENT KNOB
THE ADJUSTMENT KNOB IS PRESENT ON
THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE APPARATUS,
BENEATH THE PAN. IT CAN BE TURNED TO
ATTAIN GREATER ACCURACY WHILE
MEASURING THE WEIGHT OF AN OBJECT
USING THE TRIPLE BEAM BALANCE.

POINTER
THE POINTER IS PRESENT ON THE RIGHT
HAND SIDE OF THE TRIPLE BEAM BALANCE.
BY DEFAULT, IT POINTS TO ZERO ON A
LABELED SCALE. TOGETHER THE POINTER
AND THE SCALE ARE USED TO ASCERTAIN
WHEN THE BEAMS ARE AT THEIR RESTING
POSITIION, AND TO DETERMINE WHEN THE
CORRECT MASS OF AN OBJECT HAS BEEN
FOUND.

TRIPLE BEAMS AND RIDERS

AS THE NAME OF THIS APPARATUS IMPLIES,
THE TRIPLE BEAM BALANCE COMPRISES
THREE BEAMS WHICH ARE INDIVIDUALLY
USED TO DETERMINE THE MASS OF AN
OBJECT. EACH OF THESE THREE BEAMS HAS
A WEIGHTED RIDER ON IT, WHICH THE USER
CAN SLIDE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE
BEAM TO DETERMINE THE OBJECTS MASS.

Measuring mass directly

1. KEEPING THE PAN EMPTY, MOVE ALL THREE

RIDERS ON THREE BEAMS TO THEIR LEFTMOST
POSITIONS. CHECK THE POINTER AND SCALE TO
ENSURE THAT IT READS ZERO. IF IT DOESNT THE
CALIBRATE THE SCALE BY TURNING THE ADJUSTMENT
KNOB UNTIL A ZERO READING IS OBTAINED.
2. AFTER CALIBRATON, PLACE THE OBJECT TO BE
MEASURED ON THE CENTER OF THE PAN. THE
POINTER WILL MOVE AWAY FROM THE ZERO
READING.

3. SLIDE THE 100 gm RIDER TO THE LEFT

SLOWLY FROM NOTCH TO NOTCH, UNTIL THE
POINTERDROPS BELOW ZERO MARK. AT THIS
POINTMOVE THE RIDER BACK A NOTCH.
4. NOW MOVE THE 10 gm RIDER FROM NOTCH
TO NOTCH IN A SIMILAR MANNER AS YOU DID
WITH THE 100 gm NOTCH UNTIL THE POINTER
DROPS BELOW ZERO AT WHICH POINT, YOU
MUST MOVE IT BACK A NOTCH.
5. LASTLY, MOVE THE 1 gm RIDER SLOWLY ON
ITS BEAM UNTIL THE POINTER ALIGNS AT ZERO.

6. TAKE THE TOTAL OF ALL THE THREE

NUMBERS INDICATED BY THE POSITIONS OF

THREE RIDERS TO GET THE MASS OF THE
OBJECT ON THE PAN.

FINDING MASS BY DIFFERENCE

1. KEEPING THE PAN EMPTY, MOVE ALL THREE

RIDERS ON THREE BEAMS TO THEIR LEFTMOST
POSITIONS. CHECK THE POINTER AND SCALE TO
ENSURE THAT IT READS ZERO. IF IT DOESNT THE
CALIBRATE THE SCALE BY TURNING THE ADJUSTMENT
KNOB UNTIL A ZERO READING IS OBTAINED.
2. YOU MUST FIRST MEASURE THE MASS OF THE
EMPTY CONTAINER.
3. THEN YOU TAKE THE MASS OF THE CONTANER
WITH THE LIQUID/FLUID ON IT.

4. ADD UP THE RESULTS AND SUBTRACT IT TO

THE MASS OF THE CONTAINER ALONE TO TAKE
THE MASS OF THE LIQUID/FLUID ALONE.

MEASURING OUT A SUBSTANCE

1. KEEPING THE PAN EMPTY, MOVE ALL THREE RIDERS

ON THREE BEAMS TO THEIR LEFTMOST POSITIONS.
CHECK THE POINTER AND SCALE TO ENSURE THAT IT
READS ZERO. IF IT DOESNT THE CALIBRATE THE SCALE
BY TURNING THE ADJUSTMENT KNOB UNTIL A ZERO
READING IS OBTAINED.
2. FIND THE MASS OF THE WEIGHING PAPER
3. IF YOU HAVE THE MASS OF YOUR PAPER ZEROED OUT,
THEN YOU CAN ADD THE AMOUNT OF YOUR SUBSTANCE.
4. ADD THE CHEMICAL/SUBSTANCE SLOWLY UNTIL THE
ZERO MARKER POINTS AT ZERO.

ANY QUESTIONS?