Mass, Volume And Density

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The purpose of this experiment is to understand the uses and functions of various devices used to receive the most common units of measurement in physics for mass, volume and density. We were given a steel ball, a rectangular aluminum block, a brass cylinder and an aluminum annular cylinder to be measured by a vernier caliper, micrometer and weight balance. We learned the uses of the equipment and the values given through measure to obtain the significant figures needed for accuracy. In this experiment, we will take the average of 5 measurements to produce a value of great accuracy in which we will use for our final answer. We will then compare it with the given value provided in our Physics Lab’s manual. The purpose of this experiment is to familiarize ourselves with basic measurement tools. It is also to learn how to use the concepts of the significant figures, the experimental uncertainty (error) and some methods of error and data analysis in our experimental measurements. Procedure/Raw data: A. Steel Ball: The diameter (D) was measured using a micrometer. Once the diameter was obtained, it was used it in the formula (1/6)*π*D3 to obtain the volume (V). I then calculated the average of the volume (v av.). This average was subtracted from each volume to obtain a mean deviation of volume (|dvi|) for each measurement, which was then averaged. A balance was used to measure the mass (m). The mass was then divided by the volume to obtain the density (ρ) of the steel ball. This was done for all 5 measurements to obtain an average density (ρ av.). The average density was then subtracted from the density of each to obtain a mean deviation of density (|dpi|) which was then averaged. The average density was compared with the accepted average density (7.8*103 kg/m3) provided in the lab’s manual. I then calculated the percent % error by converting my average

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