Chemistry Lab Problems?

Question

1. Explain how the density of an irregular-shaped wooden block is affected if
a) the center is hollow;
b) the block is not completely submerged when determining volume.

2. Assume that the plastic chips in your flotation experiment were floating on top of the acetone. Could you still use water as a second liquid to bring the chips to the middle of the liquid? Explain.


Any help is very much appreciated! :)

Answer 1

If the center is hollow, you would be displacing a greater volume of liquid, and your apparent volume would be too high, so your density would look lower than its true value (thats how boats float).
b) if the block isnt completely submerged, the level of liquid risen would not be completely compensating for the entire mass of the block. So you would see a lesser volume and therefore a greater density than it really was.

Nope, because water is even more dense than acetone, so the chips would just stay on the top. You need something less dense than the chips.

Answer 2

1. a) The wood would appear to be less dense than it is.
b) The wood would appear to have less volume than it does.

2. If plastic chips float on acetone, then they are less dense than acetone. Water is more dense than acetone. Adding water to acetone would give a liquid that is even more dense than acetone, so the chips would still float.