Activity IV: What is foil made of?

Determining The Density Of An Irregular Solid

Problem:

Thin sheets of shiny metal are used to cover food. What metal is this product made of? Is it tin foil or aluminum foil? The package is not labeled. Use the density of these two metals to determine what metal foil is made of.

Background Information:

Use reference material to answer these questions.

Define these words:

Density: _________________________________________________________

Foil: ____________________________________________________________

Experimental Data:

The density of tin is ________ g/cm3.

The density of aluminum is ________ g/cm3.

Mathematical Formulas:

Density = Describe how you determine the density of a solid object.

What information do you need to calculate the density of an object?

Hypothesis What metal do you believe Reynolds foil is made of?

Give a minimum of 2 reason why you believe foil is made of this metal.

Procedure Materials:

Piece of foil

Electronic balance

Graduated cylinder

Water Method:

1. Fold the neatly foil into a compact 1 inch by 1 inch flat shape. After each fold, carefully roll the foil with your pencil to squeeze out all the air.

Why is it important to remove all the air from the piece of foil? ___________________________________________________________________________

What will happen to your density calculation if air is trapped in the folds of the piece of foil? ___________________________________________________________________________

2. Use the electronic scale to determine the mass of the foil. Record this data in the data chart

3. Pour approximately 40 ml of water in the graduated cylinder. Record this data in the data chart as Vw. Vw means the volume of water.

a.Carefully slide the fold foil into the graduated cylinder with the water. Record this data in the data chart as Vw+ m. Vw+m means the volume of water and the metal.

5. Calculate the volume of the foil using this formula:

(Vw+m) - Vw = Vm 6. Enter the value for Vm in the data chart.

6. Enter the value for Vm in the data chart.

Analysis

a.Open a new sheet in your Excel Workbook. Transfer the information from your data chart into the spreadsheet.

b.Calculate the density of the foil using the fx function. Make a bar or column chart of the material and the density.

Conclusion

1.What metal is Reynolds foil made of?