Minguillo, Zaidelle

Sarmiento, Carmina
Taamor, John Paul
Villarante, Angelo

Date Due: 18 August 2015

Date Submitted: 18 August 2015

Measurement of Density of Flour using a Pycnometer

Flour, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), is a powdered food prepared by
grinding and bolting grains and cereals such as wheat which may vary in physical properties such as
density due to its composition. Moisture content was one of its most essential compositions as it greatly
dictates the quality of flour thus also affecting its physical property (Kaletunc & Breslauer, 2003).
Density is a fundamental and characteristic property of particles which is defined as the total
mass of the particle divided by its volume (Rapp, 2002). Barbosa-Canovas (2005) also stated that density
is a physical property that determines other particle properties such as bulk powder structure and particle
size. This also indicates possible changes in composition of material which in practical way can be used
as a conversion factor to relate, the extensive properties, mass and volume (Petrucci et al, 2010).
Amongst the widely accepted methods for measuring density, pycnometer method was one of the
most utilized as this is advantageous in terms of sample size since this only requires minimal amount of
sample thus less sampling error may occur (Rapp, 2002). Therefore this experiment intended to measure
the density of various flour samples using the pycnometer as well as its relationship with moisture
content.
Two variants of flour (all-purpose flour and wheat flour) were examined using a pycnometer in
order to determine their density involving wet and dry flour samples as tabulated in Table 1.
Table 1. Density of All Purpose Flour and Wheat Flour
All Purpose Flour
Flour
Wet Basis
Dry Basis
Density, g/mL
0.5989
0.5786
Standard
0.0105
0.0440
Deviation
Confidence
0.5989 5.38124
0.5786 5.1983
interval
g/mL
g/mL

Wheat Flour
Wet Basis
Dry Basis
0.1914
1.5225
2.2129

0.1316

0.1914 19.8821
g/mL

1.5225 1.1819
g/mL

The dry basis for all purpose flour sample has a lower density compared to its wet basis.
Temperature greatly affects its density, hence, when the sample is heated in the oven, gas molecules
expanded because of high temperature-sensitivity which resulted to a greater volume and lower density
(Lower, 2014 ). On the contrary, wheat flour sample has a lower density in wet basis than that of its dry
basis. Wheat flour has a higher protein and gluten content, thus, heating it leads to a lesser volume and
higher density (Sievert, Hoseney, & Delcour, 2007).
However, comparing these experimental values with the theoretical values reported by AVcalc
LLC (n.d.) and Heldman (2003) as 0.53 g/mL for all purpose flour and 1.470g/mL for wheat flour, both
experimental densities were slightly higher which may be attributed to temperature variation and presence
of bubbles in the pycnometer during the analysis.
Pycnometer method is time-consuming compared to other methods such as buoyancy and
displacement methods. Possible error in this experiment may be due to decreased number of trials
performed because it entails to perform three (3) trials to explicitly determine the volume of the samples
("Manual of Weighing Applications", 1999). Another is the temperature variation and bubbles in
pycnometer that can relatively deviate the calculated density of the sample. Boiling of liquid and cooling
before filling the pycnometer is recommended to avoid the occurrences of bubbles (Pomeranz & Meloan,
2002). Nonetheless, Webster (2000) states that this technique is greatly dependent on the good
performance of experimenter as well as the lag time, when sample is exposed too much in the

atmosphere before analysis this contribute to accumulation of more moisture thus affecting the resulting
mass hence density is also affected.
High confidence interval and standard deviation was calculated indicating a low precision which
may be attributed to the employed skill of the experimenter since pycnometer is highly dependent of the
performance of the experiment. Therefore to further improve this analysis, careful technique must be
employed and analysis of sample must be done quickly at a controlled environment.
According to Hidnert and Peffer there are several methods, aside from pycnometer, for the
determination of densities of solid and liquid (1950). One of the most common method is determination
based on Archimedean Principle whereby an object is suspended on a fluid of known density where the
mass of displaced water is correlated to weight loss of an object thus density can be calculated.
Methods that are based on Archimedean Principle include the hydrostatic weighing method which
can be a buoyancy method or a displacement method. Buoyancy method whereby the buoyancy force is
measured upon the weight loss of a body in a fluid. Consequently, in the displacement method the mass
of the fluid displaced by the body is measured directly on a weighing scale. The said methods are used
for density measurement of liquids as well as the hydrometer, a device that floats on surface of the fluid
that sinks at a certain level depending on the liquids density, and the falling-drop method which entails
measurement of the falling time of a known drop size of liquid on a immiscible liquid at a certain time
(Hidnert and Peffer, 1950).
Likewise, the methods for determination of density of solids are governed by Archimedean
principle. Other than this includes X-ray diffraction where density is obtained through approximation of the
unit cell dimension, and the use of gamma radiation that is transmitted to a body which can be linked to its
density.
For the density measurement of gases the following methods can be used: centrifugal method
that is dependent on the differential pressure, where a gas is engaged to calibrated angular velocity;
refractometry method which is based on refractive index and its correlation with pressure and temperature
to the density; Vibration method in which a gas density is measured throughout the change in vibration
frequency of a device and lastly, velocity-of-sound method which directly links sound density to an
unknown bulk modulus (Sartorius, 1999).

References
Anonymous, NA. Measurement Methods. [e-book]. Virtual Institute for Thermal Metrology.
Retrieved 15 August 2015, from
http://www.evitherm.org/default.asp?ID=249
Anonymous, 1999. Density. In: Sartorius, Manual of Weighing Applications. Germany: Sage pp 1-32.
Anonymous, 1999. Manual of Weighing Applications (Part 1). Retrieved 16 August 2015, from
http://www.dcu.ie/sites/default/files/mechanical_engineering/pdfs/manuals/DensityDeterminationManu
al.pdf
AVCalc LLC,. Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached density in 285 measurement units.
Retrieved 17 August 2015, from http://www.aqua-calc.com/page/density-table/substance/wheatblank-flour-coma-and-blank-white-coma-and-blank-all-purpose-coma-and-blank-enriched-coma-andblank-bleached
Barbosa-Canovas, G. (2005). Food powders. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Heldman, D. (2003). Encyclopedia of agricultural, food, and biological engineering. New York: Marcel
Dekker.
Hidnert, P., and Peffer, E. (1950). Density of solids and liquids. National Bureau of Standards Circular.
Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1-29.
Kaletunc, G., & Breslauer, K. (2003). Characterization of cereals and flours. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Lal, R. (2002). Encyclopedia of soil science. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Lower, S. (2014). Density. Retrieved 16 August 2015, from
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Physical_Properties_of_Matter/Bulk_Properties/Den
sity
Petrucci, R., Herring, F., Madura, J., and Bissonnette, C. (2010). General Chemistry: Principles and
Modern Applications. 10th ed. Canada: Pearson Publication, Inc.
Pomeranz, Y., & Meloan, C.E. (2002). Food Analysis: Theory and Practice [Google books version].
Retrieved 16 August 2015, from https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=DUL7B7JegcUC&pg=PA423&lpg=PA423&dq=possible+errors+in+pycnometer&source=bl&ots=BK
w058dKCM&sig=n98AvO_Fn-I_VmJeR5LmSKHEEg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAmoVChMIspLcy-StxwIVA0OCh1vuAP1#v=onepage&q=possible%20errors%20in%20pycnometer&f=false
Rapp, G. (2002). Archaeomineralogy. Berlin: Springer.
Sievert, D., Hoseney, R.C., & Delcour, J.A. (2007). Bread and Other Baked Products. Retrieved 16
August 2015, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14356007.a04_331.pub2/abstract. DOI:
10.1002/14356007.a04_331.pub2
US Food and Drug Administration. (2014). CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21. Retrieved 15
August 2015, from http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?
fr=137.105
Webster, J. (2000). Mechanical variables measurement. Boca Raton, Fla: CRC Press.

Appendix A
Raw Data for All Purpose Flour
Table 1. Determination of Volume of Pycnometer
Trial
mpyc, g
m(pyc+H2O), g
Vpyc, mL

1
43.6566
93.4551
50.0203

2
43.6576
93.457
50.02121

Table 2. Determination of Density of All Purpose Flour Sample

Wet Basis
1
2
mfl, g
1.2132
1.3229
m(pyc+fl)+H2O, g
92.675
92.5498
mH2O, g
47.86294
47.62804
Vfl, mL
2.000793
2.236463
Density of fl, g/mL
0.60636
0.591514
Table 3. Determination of Density of All Purpose Flour Sample
Dry Basis
1
2
m fl, g
1.0954
1.3434
m(pyc+fl)+H2O, g
93.8368
92.6032
m H2O, g
49.14254
47.66094
V fl, mL
2.000793
2.203455
Density of fl,
0.547483
0.609679
g/mL

Mean
43.6571
93.45605
50.02075

Mean
1.26805
92.6124
47.74549
2.118628
0.598937

SD
0.0007
0.0013
0.000643

SD
0.0776
0.0885
0.166099
0.166644
0.010497

Mean
1.2194
93.2196
48.40174
2.102124

SD
0.1754
0.8729
1.047649
0.143304

0.578581

0.043979

Table 4. Confidence Interval for density of All Purpose Flour Sample

_____ Flour
CL
T95%,n-1=1
Wet basis
5.381235
12.7062
dry basis
5.198343
12.7062

Confidence Interval
0.598937 5.381235
0.578581 5.198343

*Values were calculated using MS Excel

Appendix B
Raw Data for Wheat Flour
Table 1. Determination of Volume of Pycnometer
Trial
mpyc, g
m(pyc+H2O), g
Vpyc, mL

1
44.503
93.597
49.31266

2
44.5027
93.6143
49.33034

3
44.5037
93.6025
49.3175

Table 2. Determination of Density of Wheat Flour Sample

Wet Basis
1
2
mfl, g
1.1611
1.1454
m(pyc+fl)+H2O, g
94.1067
95.6387
mH2O, g
48.49988
49.99017
Vfl, mL
0.661162
-0.83401
Density of fl, g/mL
1.756151
-1.37337
Table 3. Determination of Density of Wheat Flour Sample
Dry Basis
1
2
mfl, g
1.613
1.4106
m(pyc+fl)+H2O, g
94.1503
94.2023
mH2O, g
48.03417
48.28857
V fl, mL
1.128408
0.873173
Density of fl,
1.429448
1.615487
g/mL
Table 4. Confidence Interval for Wheat Flour Sample
Wheat Flour
CL
Wet basis
19.8821
dry basis
1.18193

Mean
44.5031
93.6046
49.3202

Mean
1.15325
94.8727
49.245
-0.0864
0.19139

SD
0.0005
0.0088
0.0091

SD
0.0111
1.08329
1.05379
1.05725
2.2129

Mean
1.5118
94.1763
48.1614
1.00079

SD
0.14312
0.03677
0.17989
0.18048

1.52247

0.13155

T95%,n-1=1
12.7062
12.7062

Confidence Interval
0.191392 19.88214
1.522467 1.181926

*Values were calculated using MS Excel

Appendix C
Sample Calculation

air =

((

P0.3873 P H 20
= 0.001164
760
760torr0.3873(25.5087)
0.001293
760
1+0.00367 ( 26.2 )

0.001293
1+ 0.00367 T

)(

))(

= 0.001164

pyc+ H 20

mmpyc
H 20air
93.455143.6576
=
0.996730.001164

Vpyc =

= 50.0203

m ( pyc+ fl )+ H 20 [ mfl +(m pyc V pyc air )]

mH20 =

= 92.675 [1.2132+(43.6566-50.0203x0.001164)]
= 47.86294

V fl =

V pyc V H 20=V pyc

= 50.02075 -

m H 20
H 20

0.99673

47.86294

= 2.000793

mfl
V fl
1.0954
=
2.000793

fl =

= 0.60636

SD=

(x X )

n1
(0.606360.598937)2 +(0.5915140.598937)2

21

=0.010497
CL

T 95 Mean
n
12.7062 0.598937

= 5.381235