Question

A lab student is given a solid cube of an unknown material. He measures the side length to be 5.1 cm and weighs the cube to be 358 g. What is the cube made of?

A. Magnesium
B. Aluminum
C. Iron
D. Lead

Answer 1

The density of the cube is calculated using its mass and volume and compared with the provided material densities. It matches the density of aluminum, indicating the cube is made of aluminum.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine what material the cube is made of, we must calculate its density and compare it with the densities of the materials given in the options. The density of a substance is the mass per unit volume. The formula to calculate density (ρ) is:

ρ = Mass / Volume

In this case, the mass of the cube is 358 g, and the volume can be calculated using the given side length (5.1 cm) of the cube:

Volume of cube = side³ = 5.1 cm × 5.1 cm × 5.1 cm = 132.651 cm³

Now we calculate the density:

ρ = 358 g / 132.651 cm³ ≈ 2.70 g/cm³

Given that the density of aluminum is 2.70 g/cm³, we can conclude that the cube is most likely made of aluminum (Option B).