2006-08-30 03:42:07 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
By measuring it's Density with calculation it's volume in water (in accuracy burrete), and it's mass with scale. (D= m/v) must be 19.32 (for pure gold).
ofcourse master jewlers can distinguish the gold genuine by it's voice.
2006-08-30 04:12:15 · answer #1 · answered by aahs137 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can bite it. Pure gold will dent when you bite it.
But I assume this is gold jewelry you are talking about and not gold bullion?
If so, most gold jewelry is not 24 Karat Gold (pure gold) but rather an alloy with another metal to give it hardness and strength. Typically 18 Karat Gold (75% gold) is what is used when people say it is "gold". But jewelries can sell jewelry that is as low as 42% gold, which is called 10 Karat gold. Little girl jewerlry is often 10K gold because they tend to lose it.
There should be a stamp on the gold somewhere with the Karat rating for it. 18K sould mean 75% gold or you might see 750 stamped in the alloy.
Gold is not a good investment for Americans as it costs quite a bit more in the USA than in the middle eastern countries from Egypt to India. Of course you should determine the density for yourself of any gold you buy to determine how much gold you really bought. That is a simple process that any person can do. Weigh it to the nearest tenth of a gram, determine the volume by displacement in a graduated cylinder, divide the mass by the volume and compare your density to what the denisites of the different Karat ratings would be.
2006-08-30 10:45:47 · answer #2 · answered by Alan Turing 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Archimedean principle! Weigh the gold. Then place the gold in some water in a marked container (make sure the water is deep enough for all the gold to go in, and that the gold object is not hollow). Measure the amount the water goes up. If it's real gold, the weight divided by the amount of water it displaces should be 19.3. If it is significantly less, the gold is not pure.
2006-08-30 10:49:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A very simple test is called "specific gravity." You weigh an object, then drop it in water and measure how much water is displaced. You create a ratio from these two numbers, then compare this to a list you can get from an encyclopedia or chemistry reference.
The most precise way is to take the sample to an assayer. An assay is a chemical determination of the composition of a mineral, and can be used to determine the content of silver, gold, platinum or any other element.
2006-08-30 10:53:54 · answer #4 · answered by pvreditor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
take the *gold* to a jeweler and let them tell you for sure, they can even tell you the karats
2006-08-30 10:48:16 · answer #5 · answered by JeWelz 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
GO TO A JEWELER
2006-08-30 10:47:03 · answer #6 · answered by -------- 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
melt it and if it changes color,its fake
2006-08-30 10:48:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
buy something with it, see if it works.
2006-08-30 10:47:18 · answer #8 · answered by CJ 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋