DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY – DASMARINAS

Dasmariñas, Cavite
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE, AND TECHNOLOGY

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM

Experiment No. 7

MEASUREMENT OF SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF A SOLID

Aguilar, Kim Benedict

Engr. Rene D. Rubio

OBJECTIVE...……………………………………………….…………………………………3

THEORY………………………………………………………………………………………..3

MATERIALS AND APPARATUS……………………………………………………………4

PROCEDURES………………………………………………………………………………..5

DOCUMENTATIONS…………………………………………………………………………6

DATA SHEET…………….……………………………………………………………………7

CALCULATIONS……………………………………………………………………………..8

QUESTION AND PROBLEMS……………………………………………………………..9

ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS……………………………………………………………..9

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….13

RECOMMENDATION……………………………………………………………………….14
 I. OBJECTIVE

To determine the specific gravity of a solid.

II. THEORY

Specific gravity (SG) is a special case of relative density defined as the ratio of

the density of a given substance, to the density of water when both substances are at

the same temperature. Substances with a specific gravity of less than 1 are less dense

than water.

SG =ρ substance

ρH2O

The method employed here for finding the density of the solid is weighing and

displacement method where the solid is weigh using the triple beam balance and the

volume is determine by measuring the water it displaced when placed inside a cylinder

containing water of measured volume. The density is determined by dividing the mass

by the volume. Once the density of the solid is obtained the specific gravity may be

obtained from the above formula.

Qty Unit Description

1 pc 500 ml beaker

1 pc 500 ml graduated cylinder

1 pc triple beam balance

1 pc solid metal brass

1 pc pan

1 pc rags
IV. PROCEDURES

1. Weigh the empty graduated cylinder.

2. Fill the graduated cylinder with 200 ml of tap water.

3. Weigh the graduated cylinder with tap water.

4. Calculate the weight of tap water.

5. Calculate the density of tap water.

6. Weigh the solid metal (brass).

7. Tie a string to the solid metal and slowly place inside the graduated cylinder with
tap water inside.

8. Read the volume of water with solid metal.

9. Determine the volume of the solid metal.

10. Calculate the density of the solid metal.

11. Calculate the specific gravity of solid metal.

12. Perform three (3) trials.

TABLE 1 - WEIGHT OF CYLINDER, WEIGHT OF TAP WATER & SPECIFIC GRAVITY

Weight of empty Graduated Cylinder - 279 g

Volume of Tap Water - 700 ml

Trial Weight of Weight of Tap Density of Tap Water

1 963 g 684 g 0.9771 g/ml

2 963 g 684 g 0.9771 g/ml

3 963 g 684 g 0.9771 g/ml

4 963 g 684 g 0.9771 g/ml

5 963 g 684 g 0.9771 g/ml

TABLE 2 - WEIGHT, VOLUME, DENSITY & SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SOLID

Trial Solid Weight of Volume of Density of Specific Gravity

1 Rock 184 g 90 ml 2.04 g/ml 2.10

2 Wood 10 g 10 ml 1 g/ml 1.02

3 Rubber 44 g 40 ml 1.1 g/ml 1.13

4 Glass 5g 7 ml .71 g/ml 0.73

5 Plastic 11 g 11 ml 1 g/ml 1.02

Average: 1.2
VII. CALCULATIONS

● Solving for Density

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

684 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑎𝑝 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 700 𝑚𝑙
= 0. 9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

184 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 90 𝑚𝑙
= 2. 04 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

10 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 10 𝑚𝑙
= 1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

44 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑟 = 40 𝑚𝑙
= 1. 1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

5𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 7 𝑚𝑙
= 0. 71 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

11 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 = 11 𝑚𝑙
= 1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙

● Solving for Specific Gravity of Solid

𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 = 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑎𝑝 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

2.04 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 0.9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
= 2. 09

1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 0.9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
= 1. 02

1.1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑟 = 0.9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
= 1. 13
 0.71 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 0.9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
= 0. 73

1 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 = 0.9771 𝑔/𝑚𝑙
= 1. 02

VIII. QUESTION AND PROBLEMS

1. Differentiate mass from weight and mass density from weight density.

2. What is the effect of temperature on the specific gravity of solid?

3. The weight of the empty cylinder is 349.1 grams and after pouring 200 ml of tap
water the total weight becomes 547.1 grams. Calculate the specific gravity of tap water.
If 179.1 grams of unknown solid metal displaces 25 ml of water in the cylinder, calculate
the density of metal and its specific gravity.

IX. ANSWER AND SOLUTION

1. Mass and weight, as well as mass density and weight density, are related

concepts, but they have distinct meanings in physics. Mass is a measure of the

amount of matter in an object and weight, on the other hand, is the force exerted

on an object due to gravity. Mass density refers to the mass per unit volume of a

substance while weight density is the force of gravity per unit volume. In

summary, mass is an intrinsic property of matter and is not affected by gravity,

while weight depends on both mass and the force of gravity. Mass density is a

measure of how much mass is contained in a given volume, and weight density

accounts for the force of gravity acting on that mass per unit volume.

2. The specific gravity of a solid is a measure of how dense it is compared to water.

In most cases, for common materials that students might encounter in

within the usual laboratory conditions. This means that as long as the solid

doesn't undergo significant changes like melting or structural transformations

due to heat, its specific gravity remains constant. However, some materials,

especially those with complex structures like polymers, might show small

variations in specific gravity with temperature. It's essential for students to check

the specific properties of the materials they are working with and conduct

experiments to understand how temperature might affect specific gravity in their

specific cases.

3.To find the specific gravity of tap water, use the formula:

Calculate the weight of tap water:

tap water

=water empty

tap water

​water

​empty

tap water=547.1

g−349.1

g=198g

tap water

​=547.1g−349.1g=198g
 Calculate the density of water:

Density of Water=tap water

water

Density of Water= V

water

tap water

Density of Water

=198g

200

ml=0.99

g/ml

Density of Water= 200ml

198g

​=0.99g/ml

Calculate the specific gravity of water:

Specific Gravity of Water=Density of Water

Density of Water at 4°C

Specific Gravity of Water=

Density of Water at 4°C

Density of Water

Specific Gravity of Water=0.99

1 g/ml
g/ml=0.99

Specific Gravity of Water=

1g/ml

0.99g/ml

​=0.99

Density and Specific Gravity of Metal:

Calculate the density of metal:

Density of Metal=metal displaced

Density of Metal= displaced metal

​Density of Metal=179.1g

25ml=7.16

g/ml

Density of Metal= 25ml

179.1g

​=7.16g/ml

Calculate the specific gravity of metal:

Specific Gravity of Metal

Density of Metal

Density of Water at 4°C

Specific Gravity of Metal=

Density of Metal

Specific Gravity of Metal

=7.16

1 g/ml

g/ml=7.16

Specific Gravity of Metal=

1g/ml

7.16g/ml

​=7.16

Therefore, the specific gravity of tap water is 0.99, the density of the unknown metal
is 7.16 g/ml, and the specific gravity of the unknown metal is 7.16.

X. CONCLUSION

The objective of determining the specific gravity of a solid has been successfully
accomplished using the weighing and displacement method. The theoretical
foundation, based on the ratio of a substance's density to that of water at the same
temperature, guided the experiment. The methodology involved utilizing a triple beam
balance for weighing the solid and employing displacement to ascertain its volume. By
dividing the mass by the volume, the density was calculated, allowing us to apply the
specific gravity formula (SG = ρ substance / ρH2O) and derive the specific gravity of the
material. This experiment not only met its goal but also demonstrated the practical
application of fundamental concepts in determining physical properties of solids.
XI. RECOMMENDATION

1. Exploration of Material Variations: Encourage students to extend the experiment by

investigating the specific gravity of different materials. This could involve comparing

metals of varying densities or exploring the specific gravity of non-metallic substances.

The diversification of materials will contribute to a broader understanding of specific

gravity principles.

2. Temperature Dependency Analysis: Given that specific gravity is

temperature-dependent for certain materials, consider a supplementary experiment to

explore the effect of temperature on the specific gravity of solids. This can provide

insights into how temperature variations influence the density of materials and

subsequently impact their specific gravity.

3. Advanced Measurement Techniques:Challenge students to explore more advanced

measurement techniques for increased precision. Consider incorporating digital

instruments or alternative methods for measuring volume and mass, allowing students

to explore modern laboratory practices and enhance their technical skills.

4. Comparative Analysis:Encourage students to compare their experimental results

with established literature values for specific gravity. This comparative analysis can

help validate the accuracy of their findings and provide an opportunity to discuss any

discrepancies.