Final answer:
To determine the density of wood chips or rock salt, use the water displacement method: measure the sample's mass, submerge it in water to find its volume, and then calculate density by dividing mass by volume.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the density of wood chips or rock salt, you can conduct an experiment using the water displacement method. This technique involves measuring how much water is displaced when an object is submerged, which allows for the calculation of the object's volume.
- Weigh a dry sample of the wood chips or rock salt to find its mass using a balance scale.
- Fill a graduated cylinder with a known volume of water and record this initial volume.
- Submerge the wood chips or rock salt in the graduated cylinder. Ensure that the sample is fully submerged and that it does not float.
- Record the new volume of water with the submerged sample.
- Calculate the volume of the wood chips or rock salt by subtracting the initial water volume from the new water volume.
- Finally, calculate the density of the sample by dividing the mass by the volume (Density = Mass/Volume).
This experiment not only allows you to find the density but also to compare the densities of different materials, such as wood chips versus rock salt. By comparing the masses of equal volumes of these materials, you can determine which has the greater density.