Podcast
Questions and Answers
What property of a material does density measure?
What property of a material does density measure?
Why does a brick sink in water while a liter of water floats?
Why does a brick sink in water while a liter of water floats?
What is specific gravity a ratio of?
What is specific gravity a ratio of?
How do different minerals' densities relate to their specific gravities?
How do different minerals' densities relate to their specific gravities?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the first step to determine the density of an unknown specimen?
What is the first step to determine the density of an unknown specimen?
Signup and view all the answers
Why is it necessary to determine how much water an unknown sample displaces when measuring its density?
Why is it necessary to determine how much water an unknown sample displaces when measuring its density?
Signup and view all the answers
What characteristic makes a mineral suitable for use in measuring density?
What characteristic makes a mineral suitable for use in measuring density?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the volume of the sample in cubic centimeters (cc)?
What is the volume of the sample in cubic centimeters (cc)?
Signup and view all the answers
How is density calculated?
How is density calculated?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the specific gravity of the sample?
What is the specific gravity of the sample?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the specific gravity range for most common rock-forming minerals?
What is the specific gravity range for most common rock-forming minerals?
Signup and view all the answers
Which mineral has a specific gravity of about 2.65?
Which mineral has a specific gravity of about 2.65?
Signup and view all the answers
What property determines the identity of the sample as galena?
What property determines the identity of the sample as galena?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the mass of an equal volume of water when 20 cc of water was displaced by the sample?
What is the mass of an equal volume of water when 20 cc of water was displaced by the sample?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Density and Specific Gravity
- Density measures the mass per unit volume of a material
- A brick sinks in water because its density is higher than that of water, whereas a liter of water floats because its density is equal to that of water
Specific Gravity
- Specific gravity is a ratio of the density of a substance to the density of water
- Different minerals have varying densities, which are reflected in their specific gravities
Measuring Density
- The first step in determining the density of an unknown specimen is to measure its mass
- It's necessary to determine how much water the sample displaces to calculate its volume
- A mineral suitable for measuring density should displace a measurable amount of water when submerged
Calculating Density and Specific Gravity
- Density is calculated by dividing the mass of the sample by its volume
- The volume of the sample is typically measured in cubic centimeters (cc)
- Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of the sample to the density of water
- The specific gravity range for most common rock-forming minerals is approximately 2.5-3.5
- Galena has a specific gravity of about 2.65
- The high density of galena is the property that determines its identity
- The mass of an equal volume of water can be calculated by multiplying the volume of water displaced by the density of water (1 g/cc)
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
Test your understanding of density and specific gravity with this quiz! Explore questions related to the amount of mass in a certain volume of material and learn how to differentiate between the weights of different materials based on their densities.
