chemistry question

Question

An irregularly shaped metal has a weight of   199.5 g and displaces   78 mL of water. What is the density of the given metal?

Answer 1

The key here is that the volume of the metal (in cm³) is equal to the volume of water (in mL) it displaced. In other words, the volume of the metal is 78 cm³.

To find the density of the metal ρ we need to divide the mass of the metal m by the volume of the metal V. The answer will have 2 significant figures, because that is the accuracy with which the volume is given.

ρ = m / V = 199.5 g / 78 cm³ = 2.6 g / cm³ (a bit heavier than Strontium, but lighter than Aluminum, likely an alloy)