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EXPERIMENT No.

3 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS

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OBJECTIVES 1. Determine the specific gravity of solids. 2. Determine the specific gravity of liquids. MATERIALS Pycnometer, Mohr-Westphal Balance, Baume hydrometer, 500-ml graduated cylinder, leach pycnometer, test tubes, serological pipette, and rubber aspirator THEORY The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. A homogenous material such as ice or iron has the same density throughout. The SI unit of density is kilogram per cubic meter (kg/m3). The cgs unit, the gram per cubic centimeter (g/cm3) is also widely used. The Greek letter rho (p) is often used as the symbol for density. If the mass m, of a material has a volume, V, the density r is (1) P= m v

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An object does not weigh less than it is when it is immersed in water. It only seems to weigh less because water is pushing the object upward. This force, which is exerted by any liquid on an object immersed within its confines, is called buoyant force. The apparent loss of weight an object experiences within a liquid is due to this buoyant force, as illustrated by

(2) Buoyant force of a liquid = weight of the object in air - weight of the object in water An object immersed in a liquid displaces a volume of liquid equal to its volume. The weight of this displaced liquid may be obtained by determining first the mass using the equation for density and multiplying this by the acceleration due to gravity. The weight of the displaced liquid, w, can be obtained using the equation (3) W= pVg The principle of buoyancy states that whenever a body is immersed partly or wholly in a liquid, it is buoyed by a force equal to the weight of the displaced liquid. This

principle was discovered by Archimedes in an effort to find the solution to a problem he faced when the King asked him to find out whether the kings crown was made of pure gold. The specific gravity or relative density of a solid is the ratio of the density of the solid to the density of water, or (4) Specific gravity of solid = density of the solid density of the liquid

Substituting equation (1) to equation (4), we have (5) Specific gravity of solid = mass of the solid/volume of solid mass of the water/volume of water

It was earlier stated that an object immersed in a liquid displaces an equal volume of the liquid. Therefore, equation (5) results to (6) Specific gravity of solid = mass of the solid mass of the water

Converting mass to weight, equation (6) will be (7) Specific gravity of solid = weight of the solid weight of equal volume of water

Using Archimedes principle, equation (7) becomes (8) Specific gravity of solid = weight of the solid buoyant force of water

To calculate the specific gravity of liquids, a general equation is used which is the same as that used to determine the specific gravity of solids: (9) Specific gravity of liquid = density of the sample liquid density of water

If the given substance has the same volume as the given amount of water, the equation above results to:

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Specific gravity of liquid

msubs mwater

The specific gravity of a substance is a pure number and it no units. It is more correctly called the relative density. There are different laboratory techniques for finding the specific gravity of liquids. These are the flotation method, the specific gravity-bottle method, the loss-of-weight method, and direct reading using a hydrometer.

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PROCEDURE A. Specific gravity of solids 1. Determination of the solubility of the sample a. Place a corn grain amount of the solid sample in a test tube and add 1 ml of water. Shake the test tube and observe whether the sample is soluble or insoluble. b. If the water is insoluble, use the water as the standard liquid.

c. If the water is soluble, determine its solubility using other liquids like oil, alcohol. Choose a standard liquid using the following procedure: 1.) Place 1 ml of liquid in a test tube. 2.) Add to each corn grain amount of solid sample and observe whether the sample dissolves or not. 3.) If the sample is insoluble, the liquid can be used as the standard. If the sample is insoluble, use some other liquid and repeat steps (1) and (2). 2. Determination of the solubility of the powder a. Weigh the empty pycnometer. b. Fill the pycnometer with the standard liquid and weigh. c. Empty the pycnometer and set aside the standard liquid. d. Introduce 2-5 g of the solid sample into the pycnometer and weigh it again. e. With the solid sample inside the pycnometer, fill the pycnometer with the standard liquid you set aside. f. Discard the liquid and the sample properly. B. Specific gravity of liquids

1. Using the Mohr-Westphal balance a. Suspend the plummet from the hook. b. Adjust the counterpoise and leveling screw so that the pointer is on the zero position of the scale. c. Fill the cylinder with the sample liquid. d. Immerse the plummet fully in the liquid sample without it touching the sides of the cylinder. Add weights to suitable position on the balance arm until the pointer returns to the zero position. 2. Using the Baume Hydrometer a. Fill the graduated cylinder with the sample liquid up to about two inches below the mouth. b. With the aid of your forefinger, immerse the hydrometer in the sample without touching the sides of the cylinder. c. Read the specific gravity of the liquid directly on the hydrometer. 3. Using the Leach pycnometer a. Clean and dry the Leach pycnometer. Weigh it with its stopper. b. Fill the pycnometer with water, taking care that no air bubbles remain in the bottle. Dry the pycnometer and weigh it again. c. Find the weight of the water. d. Empty and dry the bottle with the aid of a little alcohol. e. Repeat the same procedure using the unknown liquid. f. Find the weight of the unknown liquid. g. Determine the specific gravity of the unknown liquid. Leach Pycnometer Ordinary Pycnometer Hydrometer

Name: ________________________ ___ ___ Yr./Sec./Course _______________________

Seat no. ______ Group no. ____

Date performed: ____________ Data submitted: ____________

EXPERIMENT No.3 SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOLIDS AND LIQUIDS I. OBJECTIVES 1. To determine the specific gravity of solids. 2. To determine the specific gravity of liquids PRESENTATION OF DATA A. Specific gravity of solids Sample Standard liquid Mass of empty pycnometer Mass of pycnometer + standard liquid Mass of pycnometer +sample Mass of pycnometer +sample + standard liquid Relative density of the sample B. Specific gravity of liquids Sample 1.) Using the Leach Pycnometer Mass of empty pycnometer Mass of pycnometer and water Mass of pycnometer + liquid sample Mass of water Mass of liquid sample Specific gravity of the liquid sample 2.) Using the Mohr-Westphal balance Specific gravity of the liquid

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3.) Using the Baume Hydrometer Specific gravity of the liquid III. IV. V. VI. COMPUTATION ANALYSIS GEERALIZATION QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 1. Differentiate specific gravity and density.

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2. If 54.96 mL of oil weighs 52.78 g, what is its specific gravity?

3. A pycnometer weighs 50.00g. When filled with water, it weighs 100.00g. When filled with oil, it weighs 94.00g. Determine the specific gravity of the oil. 4. An insoluble powder weighs 12.00g. A pycnometer, weighing 21.00 g when empty, weighs 121.00g when filled with water. When the powder is introduced into the emptied pycnometer, and the pycnometer is filled with water, the three together weighs 130.00g. What is the specific gravity of the powder?

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