PHYSICS 1 LAB

ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE

“Eureka! Now I know how to determine whether the king’s crown is made of
solid gold.” -Archimedes (~200 BC)

OBJECTIVE

To determine the density of given metal objects and be able to identify the
unknown metals (a) using Archimedes’ Principle and (b) using mass and
volume.

MATERIALS

High resolution force sensor PS-2189, PASCO 850 Universal Interface, PC

Capstone software, 2- metal cylinders, 1-metal sphere, 1- irregularly shaped
metal object and 2- rectangular prism metal, nylon string, aluminum can, dial-
type caliper, and thermometer.

THEORY

Archimedes Principle states that the buoyant force (Fb) on a submerged object is equal to the weight of
the fluid it displaces.

Fbuoyant = weightdisplaced fluid = mdisp g (1)

where mdisp is the mass of the displaced fluid and g is the acceleration due to gravity.

The density �𝜌𝜌𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 � of the displaced fluid is,

𝑚𝑚𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝜌𝜌𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑚𝑚𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 𝜌𝜌𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑉𝑉𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 (2)
𝑉𝑉𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

where Vdisp is the volume of the displaced fluid.

Substituting equation (2) into (1) yields: 𝐹𝐹buoyant = 𝜌𝜌𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑉𝑉𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑔𝑔 (3)

If the object is fully submerged, the volume of the displaced fluid (Vdisp) is equal to the volume of the
submerged object (Vobj); therefore equation (3) may be rewritten as:

𝐹𝐹buoyant = 𝜌𝜌𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑔𝑔 (4)

 PHYSICS 1 LAB

PROCEDURE: Part 1 Determination of Density Using Buoyant Force

1. Watch: Archimedes’ Principle Introduction by Dr. Clarage

2. Connect the force sensor to the 850 Universal Interface by connecting it to PASport1. Connect
the 850 UI to the computer with the USB cable. Launch the Capstone software, click on
“Hardware Setup”, go to “Properties” and check “Change Sign”. Now, click on “Hardware
Setup” again to return to the display panel. On the right side display, double click on the
“Graph” icon. Click “Select Measurement” on the y-axis and choose “Force”.
3. Fill the aluminum can with water.
4. Weigh metal A using the force sensor. Make sure you tare or “zero” the force sensor before each
weighing. Press the “Record” button on the screen and you should see the zero mark moving to the
right on the graph, meaning the force sensor initially reads “0” N, then slowly and carefully weigh
the metal object in air by suspending it from the sensor. Keep the metal suspended in air without
motion for at least 3 seconds and then slowly and carefully move the same metal object A in the
water can such that it is completely submerged but not touching the container. Observe what
happens to the original weight.
5. Find the weight (in newton, N) of the metal in air by
highlighting the first most uniform horizontal part of
the graph and get the mean value using the statistics
tool. Record the mean weight of metal A in air as
<wA,air>. Now, highlight the second most horizontal
part of the graph and find the mean value and record
the mean weight of metal A in water as <wA,water>.
6. Wipe the metal and let dry.
7. Calculate the density of metal A, using the mean values of the weight of object A in air<wA,air>,
weight of object A in water<wA,water>, and equation (7).
8. Look up a list of densities for common metals and identify the material. Cite your reference.
Compare your experimental value to the known value. Choose whether to use percent error or
percent difference and explain why your choice is more appropriate to use.

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 PHYSICS 1 LAB
9. REPEAT STEPS 4 to 8 but this time use metal B, then metal C and so on. Remember to tare or
“zero” the force sensor prior to each run.

List of Densities of Common Metal

(Taken from Openstax textbook, page 363) http://cnx.org/content/col11406/latest/

[Assume all values have up to 2 decimal places.]

• Density of water at 70o F at standard sea level atmospheric

pressure is 998.02 kg/m3 (https://water.usgs.gov/edu/density.html)
• To find the density of water for a given temperature, you may
go to http://www.csgnetwork.com/waterinformation.html

Part II. Density Calculation Using Mass and Volume

1. Measure the mass and the appropriate dimensions of the metals with a dial-type caliper.
2. Determine the volume of each of the metals except for metal F.
a) Volume of a cylinder = πr2h = π(d/2)2h
4 4 𝑑𝑑
b) Volume of a sphere = 3 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3 = 3 𝜋𝜋( 2 )3
c) Volume of a rectangular block = L x W x H

3. Calculate the density of each of the metals based on volume and mass.

4. Compare the calculated density in #3 results to the experimental density obtained in Part I,
procedure 8. Should you use percent difference or error? Explain. [Include this in the Lab
Report]

LAB REPORT CHECKLIST: *Pre Lab Questions. The Lab Report (group) includes the following (stapled together and in
order): [Abstract (20 pts) ; Data Table (30 pts) ; Sample Calculations (30 pts); Analysis and Conclusion (20 pts)]

(updated:04/19/2023)

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