Name: Paul Marwin S. Cornejo Date: Oct.

5, 2021

Student Exploration: Density Laboratory

Vocabulary: buoyancy, density, graduated cylinder, mass, matter, scale, volume

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. Of the objects below, circle the ones you think would float in water.

2. Why do some objects float, while others sink?

An object will float if it is less dense than the liquid it is placed in.
An object will sink if it is more dense than the liquid it is placed in.

Gizmo Warm-up
The Density Laboratory Gizmo allows you to measure a variety of objects,
then drop them in water (or other liquid) to see if they sink or float.

1. An object’s mass is the amount of matter it contains. Mass can be

measured with a calibrated scale like the one shown in the Gizmo.
Drag the first object onto the Scale. (This is object 1.)

What is the mass of object 1? 19.5 g

2. An object’s volume is the amount of space it takes up. The volume of an irregular object
can be measured by how much water it displaces in a graduated cylinder.

A. What is the initial volume of water in the cylinder? 400.0 mL

B. Place object 1 into the cylinder. What is the volume in the cylinder now?
414.2mL

C. What is the volume of the object? 14.2cm3

Note: While milliliters (mL) are used to measure liquid volumes, the equivalent unit cubic
centimeters (cm3) are used for solids. Therefore, write the volume of object 1 in cm3.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
 Drag object 1 back to the shelf.
Float or sink?
 Check that Liquid density is set to 1.0 g/mL.

Question: How can you predict whether an object will float or sink?

1. Observe: Experiment with the different objects in the Gizmo. Observe the mass and volume
each object, then drag it into the Beaker of liquid to see if it floats or sinks. (Notice a pin
holds objects in the graduated cylinder, whether they sink or float.) Try to determine what
the floating objects have in common and what the sinking objects have in common.

2. Form hypothesis: Compare the floating objects, then do the same for the sinking objects.

A. What do the floating objects have in common? Have a lower mass than volume.

B. What do the sinking objects have in common? All of the sinking objects have a
density more than 1.0 g/cm3 .

3. Collect data: Measure the mass and volume of objects 1 through 12, and record whether
they float or sink in the table below. Leave the last column blank for now.

Object Mass (g) Volume (cm3) Density Float or sink?

1 19.5 g 14.2 cm3 1.37 g/cm3 sink
2 11.1 g 9.7 cm3 1.14 g/cm3 sink
3 4.3 g 5.6 cm3 0.77 g/cm3 float
4 134.8 g 7.8 cm3 17.3 g/cm3 sink
5 3.9 g 3.5 cm3 1.11 g/cm3 sink
6 78.7 g 29.2 cm3 2.70 g/cm3 sink
7 2.3 g 20.8 cm3 0.11 g/cm3 float
8 24.4 g 25.7 cm3 0.95 g/cm3 float
9 99.6 g 43.9 cm3 2.27 g/cm3 sink
10 42.1 g 60.8 cm3 0.69 g/cm3 float
11 65.5 g 41.2 cm3 1.59 g/cm3 sink
12 104.3 g 114.1 cm3 0.91 g/cm float

(Activity A continued on next page)

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Activity A (continued from previous page)

4. Analyze: Look carefully for patterns in your data.

A. Does mass alone determine whether an object will float or sink? No

Explain: You need both mass and volume to determine its density to see if it can float
or sink.

B. Does volume alone determine whether an object will float or sink? No

Explain: Density determines whether an object floats or sinks.

C. Compare the mass and volume of each object. What is true of the mass and volume

of all the floating objects? The mass is larger than the volume.

D. What is true of the mass and volume of all the sinking objects? The mass is greater
than the volume. To predict if the object will float or sink in water, compare the mass
to the volume.

5. Calculate: The density of an object is its mass per unit of volume. Dense objects feel very
heavy for their size, while objects with low density feel very light for their size.

To calculate density, divide the mass by volume: D = m/V. If mass is measured in grams
and volume in cubic centimeters, the unit of density is grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3).

Calculate the density of each object, and record the answers in the last column of your data
table. Label this column “Density (g/cm3).”

6. Analyze: Compare the density of each object to the density of the liquid, 1.0 g/mL. This is
the density of water.

A. What do you notice about the density of the floating objects?

If the liquid density is less than the object it will sink, if the density is more than the
object it will float.
B. What do you notice about the density of the sinking objects?
The density of an object determines whether it will float or sink in another substance.

7. Draw conclusions: If you know the mass and volume of an object, how can you predict
whether it will float or sink in water?

Calculate the density (mass divided by volume) of your object. If the density is less than that
of water then it will float, if the density of your object is more, it will sink.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:
 Drag all the objects back onto the shelf.
Liquid density
 Check that the Liquid density is still 1.0 g/mL.

Question: How does liquid density affect whether objects float or sink?

1. Observe: Place object 1 into the Beaker of liquid. Slowly move the Liquid density slider

back and forth. What do you notice?

If the liquid density is low than object 1 it will float and, if the liquid density is high than the

object 1 will sink.

2. Form a hypothesis: Buoyancy is the tendency to float. How do you think the liquid density

affects the buoyancy of objects placed in the liquid?

The density of a liquid does significantly impact the buoyancy of an object. The buoyancy of

an object is proportional to the difference of the density of the object and the density of a

liquid.

3. Predict: In the table below, write the density of each object. Then predict whether the object
will float or sink in each of the fluids. Write “Float” or “Sink” in each empty box of the table.

Liquid density
Object Object density
0.5 g/mL 1.0 g/mL 2.0 g/mL
1 Sink Sink Float
2 Sink Sink Float
3 Sink Float Float
4 Sink Sink Sink
5 Sink Sink Float

4. Test: Test your predictions using the Gizmo. Place a checkmark (\/) next to each correct
prediction, and an “X” next to each incorrect prediction.

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5. Draw conclusions: What is the relationship between the object density, the liquid density,

and the tendency of the object to float?

6. The density of an object determines whether it will float or sink in another substance.

7. An object will float if it is less dense than the liquid it is placed in. An object will sink if it is

more dense than the liquid it is placed in.

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 Extension: Get the Gizmo ready:
King Hieron’s  Drag all the objects back onto the shelf.
crown  Set the Liquid density to 1.0 g/mL.

Introduction: In the third century B.C., King Hieron of Syracuse asked the famous
mathematician Archimedes to determine if his crown was made of pure gold. This was a
puzzling problem for Archimedes—he knew how to measure the weight of the crown, but how
could he measure the volume?

Archimedes solved the problem when he got into his bath and noticed the water spilling over the
sides of the tub. He realized that the volume of the displaced water must be equal to the volume
of the object placed into the water. Archimedes was so excited by his discovery that he jumped
out of the bath and ran through the streets shouting “Eureka!”

Question: How can you tell if a crown is made of solid gold?

1. Think about it: Gold is one of the densest substances known, with a density of 19.3 g/cm3. If
the gold in the crown was mixed with a less-valuable metal like bronze or copper, how would
that affect its density?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Observe: Drag each of the crowns into the liquid. Based on what you see, which crown do
you think is densest? Explain why you think so.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Measure: Find the mass, volume, and density of each of the three crowns.

Crown Mass (g) Volume (cm3) Density (g/cm3)

A 325.2 g 62.5 cm3 5.20 g/cm3
B 1264.2 g 65.5 cm3 19.3 g/cm3
C 306.0 g 61.6 cm3 4.96 g/cm3

4. Draw conclusions: Which of the three crowns was made of gold? _____________________

Explain: __________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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