DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MEng 139 - Mechanical Engineering Laboratory I Laboratory

Name: Jeremy B. Dadula Course & Year: BSME III

ME Laboratory No. 4:
Specific Gravity

Introduction

Specific gravity is the density of a substance divided by the density of water. The

density units cancel, leaving specific gravity a unitless number. Since we often assume the

density of pure water to be 1.0 g/mL, the specific gravity usually agrees closely with density.

Temperature changes affect the density of water, resulting in differences between density and

specific gravity of the material being tested.

𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (eq. 1)
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

Knowing the mass and volume of an object allows the calculation of its density. Density

is defined as the mass divided by the volume of the object.

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (eq. 2)
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

In this experiment, we are task to obtain a specific gravity of a certain object or fluid

specifically our own body. Due to lack of instrument, I am only going to use rock. We are

required to use two different method in measuring the specific gravity.

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Experimental Procedure

In this experiment, we are going to measure the specific gravity of an irregular solid which is

rock. In the first method, I am going to get the weight of the rock in air and in water. To get the

weight of the rock in water, I am going to use reuse jar with water inside. Get the weight of it,

then suspend the rock and slowly put it into the water without touching the bottom. Then gather

the final weight.

On the second method, I am still going to use the reuse 10L bottle then I create label.

To label the bottle, I used another bottle with a smaller size as my reference. I used a 250mL

nature spring bottle as an alternative apparatus.

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Laws and Theories

Archimedes' Principle

The principle can be express as: "A floating body displaces a volume of liquid whose

weight equals that of the floating body." Archimedes' Principle can be used to determine

specific gravities of solids. The applicable relationship is given by:

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟

Volume by Displacement

The displacement method (submersion, or dunking method) can be used to accurately

measure the volume of the human body and other irregular shaped objects by measuring the

volume of fluid displaced when the object is submerged.

Results and Discussion

In the 1st method of getting the specific gravity of the rock, I use the Archimedes'

Principle.

Weight of rock in air = 250 g

Weight of rock in water = (weight of water + rock) - weight of water Weight

Using equation 3,

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑖𝑟

250𝑔
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
100𝑔

𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 2.5

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 In the 2nd method, I used the displacement method. I filled the improvised bucket (the

reuse jar) with 2000 mL water, then submerged the rock on the water.

mass of the rock = 250g

Original water volume = 2000 mL

New water volume = 2250 mL

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 − 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑘 = 2125 𝑚𝐿 − 2000 𝑚𝐿

𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌 = 1𝟐𝟓 𝒎𝑳

Knowing the mass and volume of an object allows the calculation of its density is:

Using equation 2,
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
250 𝑔
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
125 𝑚𝐿

𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝟐 𝒈/𝒎𝑳

Since we often assume the density of pure water to be 1.0 g/mL, I am going to use this

value to calculate specific gravity.

Using equation 1,

𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

2𝑔/𝑚𝐿
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
1𝑔/𝑚𝐿

𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 = 𝟐

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 To calculate error, I am using the theoretical value of the density of the andesite rock

which is 2.77.

For 1st method,

𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

2.77−2.5
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 =
2.5

%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 0.108 or 10.8%

For 2nd method,

𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

2.77−2
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 =
2

%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 0.385 or 38.5%

Conclusions

Based on all observations and data measurements obtained in this study, we can

conclude that the two method show us legit data on how to measure specific gravity. Due to

uncertainty of rock identity the error is made. Also, the error measured is due to human error

and instrumental error. This laboratory exercise successfully discusses on how to determine

the specific gravity of a common an irregular object (rock) using two methods.

References

Internet:

1. https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fmedia.cheggcdn.com%2F
study%2Fdbd%2Fdbd41bb5-9d27-4e3a-8808-
55122d28de89%2Fimage.png&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.chegg.com%2Fho
mework-help%2Fquestions-and-answers%2Ffluid-specific-gravity-greater-1-less-1tell-
us-would-fluids-interact-mixed-water-based-ob-
q45229680&tbnid=zRn3s6iQozQwDM&vet=1&docid=Ql0WyE8Gs4AZM&w=700&h=4
68&hl=en&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim

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 2. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://faculty.weber.edu/e
walker/Chem2990/Chem%25202990%2520Specific%2520Gravity%2520Readings%
2520Rev2%2520.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiMw5D639XwAhWQypQKHVt6CNIQFjAAegQI
AxAC&usg=AOvVaw3ChKVYaGzGrb25CHhoodOK
3. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.csudh.edu/Ass
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volumedensity.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiXs9Kg4NXwAhW0KqYKHfbDksQFjAKegQIGRAC
&usg=AOvVaw0rCYJUMEx_LmQPsDvfXqfI

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