Affecting The Density Of Sugar In A Copper And Diet Coke

Prior to the lab, I proposed three questions in regards to density. The first question inquired which method of density calculation would be the most accurate. The second question asked if the sugar in the soda had an effect on its density. The third question stated what affect the varying size and shape of the copper pieces had on their density. These questions were explored in the experiment and some interesting conclusions were made at the end.
In the first half of the experiment, the density of copper is calculated using two different methods of measurement. The objective of the experiment was to compare the two techniques and decide which one was more accurate. The density of copper is 8.96 g/mL (Copper 1). The average density calculated …show more content…
Unlike the first half of this lab, only one method of measurement is used for calculating the density, volumetric pipets. The volumetric pipets are “more precise than a graduated cylinder,” (Exton 3) and should produce a more precise result. In order to determine if the volumetric pipets were accurate, the same volume of liquid is measured three separate times. The actual density of the regular coke was 1.042 g/mL and the density of the diet coke was .997 g/mL (Density 2). The average density of the class data for regular coke was 1.037 g/mL and for diet coke was .993 g/mL, indicating that the volumetric pipets were very precise in their measurement when compared to the true density. Moreover, the standard deviation was significantly lower than the other two methods, diet coke at 0.0042 g/mL and regular coke at 0.0260 g/mL, confirming that the pipet’s were more accurate and precise than water displacement and direct measurement. An observation I made post-lab was that the diet coke was less dense than regular coke. This may be due to the fact that diet coke contains aspartame sweetener instead of high fructose corn syrup, which is found in regular coke. Additionally, the amount of aspartame sweetener in diet coke is 118 milligrams, whereas coke has 41 grams of high fructose corn syrup. In conclusion, diet coke is less dense that regular coke because it …show more content…
In the future, I intend on having career in the medical field, where accuracy and precision is crucial in many aspects of that field, such as calculating the dosage of medicine for a patient. To ensure that the calculation in accurate and precise, I would apply this method of testing various instruments of measurement. The use of density is also important for those who work in fields related to overseas shipping because obviously their goods need to stay afloat in the water, and calculating the density allows for them to make that assertion. To assist in my understanding of this lab in regards of precision and accuracy, I read an article that helped differentiate the two and which one was more important in different situations and calculations. This reading helped confirm that water displacement was not the most accurate of the two methods of measuring the volume of copper given the circumstance (Accuracy 4). In summary, from the data collected and from the information of outside resources, I concluded that the volumetric pipets were the most accurate in measuring the volume of a substance and that water displacement and direct measurement are viable tools for measuring the density of an object, just not as precise or