Question

The balance you used for weighing the metal strip does not zero properly, and consequently, all of your mass measurements are high by precisely 0.050 g. What effect would this have on your experimental value of Avogadro's Number?

A) It would increase the experimental value.
B) It would decrease the experimental value.
C) It would have no effect on the experimental value.
D) It depends on other factors.

Answer 1

If the balance used to weigh the metal strip consistently reads high by 0.050 g, it would lead to an experimental value of Avogadro's Number that is larger than the actual value.

Step-by-step explanation:

The balance not zeroing properly can affect the measurement of the metal strip's mass. If the balance consistently reads high by 0.050 g, then all mass measurements will be higher than the actual value. This would lead to an experimental value of Avogadro's Number that is larger than the true value. So, the correct answer is A) It would increase the experimental value.

If the balance used for weighing a metal strip does not zero properly and overstates the mass by exactly 0.050 g, this will lead to an overestimation of the mass of the substance being weighed. When calculating Avogadro's Number experimentally, the determination of the molar mass would be affected, as the actual mass would be lower than measured.

This discrepancy would cause the experimental value of Avogadro's number to be higher, because it would appear that more particles are needed to achieve the measured mass which in fact is too high. Therefore, the correct answer to the given problem is A) It would increase the experimental value.