Question

Chip has a small metal bar he believes is aluminum. He determines the bar has a mass of 6.50g and a volume of 2.34 cm³. What would his percentage% error be if the density of aluminum is 2.70g/mL?

A) 10.2%
B) 7.1%
C) 8.6%
D) 5.4%

Answer 1

The percentage error in the density calculation is 8.6%. Option C

Units used to express density frequently include grams per cubic centimeter and kilograms per cubic meter. High density objects contain a lot of mass in a small volume, whereas low density objects have less mass dispersed over a larger volume.

We have the density as;

Density = Mass/Volume

Density = 6.50g / 2.34 cm³

Recall that 1cm³ = 1 mL

Density = 2.78 g/mL

The percentage error is given by;

2.78 - 2.70/2.70 * 100/1

=8.6%