What will be the average density for a sample of metal with a mass of 12.6 g and volume calculations of 6.1 mL and 9.5 cm3 ? Omit units in the answer and report answer to one decimal place.

Question

What will be the average density for a sample of metal with a mass of 12.6 g and volume calculations of 6.1 mL and 9.5 cm³ ?

Would I take 12.6g/6.1ml=2.07

12.6g/9.5 cm3=1.33

then take (2.07+1.33)/2= 1.7 ?

Answer 1

What if you averaged the volumes and calculated a single density?

Average volume = (6.1 ml + 9.5 ml)/2 = 7.8 ml

density = 12.6 g/7.8 ml = 1.6 g/ml. This is a different answer than doing it the other way. Which is correct and why? Was the mass measured twice as well? Were the measurements paired, i.e a mass and volume measured each time. These are significant details which dictate how the final density is determined.