Intro to chemistry

Question

Empty beaker weighs 5.4325 grams. When partially filled with water, the beaker weighs 7.6589 grams. What is the mass of the wTer in the beaker?

Answer 1

Hi Lamara,

We are given the mass of the beaker by itself and the mass of the beaker with water in it, and it is asking us to find the mass of the water.

If we know

mass of beaker + mass of water = 7.6589 grams

then you can subtract the mass of the beaker from both sides of the equation to solve for the mass of the water,

Weight of Water = 7.6589 grams - mass of Beaker

and since we know how much mass the beaker has, we can plug that in

Weight of Water = 7.6589 grams - 5.4325 grams

Weight of water = 2.2264 grams

And this makes sense intuitively, as well. You know the mass of the beaker with water in it, so if you know the mass of the beaker, the remaining mass must be the mass of the water.

I hope that helps!