Question

If 60 mL of an oil weighs 52.78 grams, what is the specific gravity of the oil?

a) 0.88
b) 0.90
c) 1.25
d) 0.70

Answer 1

To calculate the specific gravity of the oil, one must divide the density of the oil (52.78 g / 60 mL = 0.8797 g/mL) by the density of water (1.00 g/mL), resulting in a specific gravity of 0.88, which corresponds to option a) 0.88.

Step-by-step explanation:

The specific gravity of a substance is the ratio of the density of the substance to the density of water. For the specific gravity calculation, you would use the formula specific gravity = density of substance / density of water. Given that the density of water at 4°C (or approximately at room temperature) is 1.00 g/mL, we use this as a reference.

To find the density of the oil, we divide its mass by its volume: density = 52.78 g / 60 mL = 0.8797 g/mL, which we can round to three significant figures as 0.880 g/mL. The density of water is 1.00 g/mL, so the specific gravity of the oil is 0.88.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is a) 0.88.