what is the the volume in mL

Question

acetone is a common solvent that has a density of 0.7899 g/mL. what volume of acetone, in mililiters, has a mass of 34.2 g?

Answer 1

This is a density problem. Density is found by taking the objects mass and dividing it by it's volume. Volume will be in some form of liters ie. ml, kl if the substance is a liquid or gas, it will only be a solid if it is found by water displacement. Normally solids are in some form of cubic measurement ie. cm³, m³. The formula for density is:

Density = mass / volume or D = M/V

This problem involves solving for volume so the equation must be algebraically manipulated to solve for volume. To do this both sides must be multiplied by volume (V) to get it out of the denominator. This cancels the V found on the right side of the equation.

V x D = M/V x V becomes V x D = M

Now to solve for volume both sides must be divided by Density (D). This cancels the D found on the left side of the equation.

(V x D)/D = M/D becomes V = M/D and now the values can be put into the problem so:

V = (34.2g)/(0.7899 g/ml) = 43.2966 ml or 43.3 ml in correct significant figures. the unit g cancels out.