Question

What is the specific gravity of an alcohol that has a volume of 1000 milliliters and weighs 810 grams?

a) 0.81
b) 1.00
c) 1.23
d) 0.90

Answer 1

The specific gravity of the alcohol is calculated by dividing its weight by volume to obtain its density (0.81 g/mL) and then comparing this value to the density of water (1.00 g/mL), resulting in a specific gravity of 0.81.

Step-by-step explanation:

The specific gravity of a substance is a measure of its density relative to water. In order to calculate the specific gravity of the alcohol, we first determine its density. Density is mass per unit volume, so we divide the weight of the alcohol (810 grams) by its volume (1000 milliliters) to find its density:

Density of alcohol = mass / volume = 810 g / 1000 mL = 0.81 g/mL

Since specific gravity is the ratio of the density of the substance to the density of water, and the density of water is 1.00 g/mL,

Specific gravity of alcohol = density of alcohol / density of water = 0.81 g/mL / 1.00 g/mL = 0.81

Therefore, the specific gravity of the alcohol is 0.81.