Lab 1: Density Block Lab

Lab 1: Density Block Lab

The block used in the experiment,
which massed 8.3 grams. 

Introduction: My goal in this lab experiment was to figure out the mass (a measure of a plastic block by knowing its density (a substance's mass relative to its volume) and volume (the amount of space that a substance occupies).

Procedure: First, my group identified the variable we needed to solve for (mass) and the information we had been given, which was that the density of the block was 8.3 grams. We knew that we could find the volume of the block and then use the formula density = mass / volume to solve for the missing variable of mass. The volume of the block could be found with the formula length x width x height. Through measurement, we found the length of the block was 2.6 centimeters, the width was 2.6 centimeters, and the height was 2.45 centimeters. Therefore, using this information and the formula, we found the block's volume was 16.562 (16.6 using significant figures) centimeters. Once we plugged this number into the equation along with the density value (8.3=mass/16.562), we found that the mass of the block was equal to 137.4646 grams/centimeter^3, which gave our final answer of 137 grams/centimeter^3 using significant figures.

Data: Our final answer was 137 grams/centimeter^3. The actual mass was 136.9 grams/centimeter^3. Our final percent error came out to be 0.073%.

Conclusion: Our conclusion was that our lab was successful. We found the correct mass on the first try with a less than 1% percent error. Through this experiment, I learned that it is better to use significant figures at the very end of an experiment and to not round off completely for as long as possible before the final answer is found to get the most accurate answer. In the future, I will work on adjusting how and when I use significant figures.