American University of Madaba

Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM

Fluid mechanics & Hydraulics Lab

Report # 1
(Fluid density and Specific weight)

Names URN: (University Registration

Tamara al-Tawal Number)
1310360

1 | www.aum.edu.jo
 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM
Submitted on: Day.Month.Year (17th of Ocr 2016)

Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
Objectives.......................................................................................................................................3
Apparatus and Materials.................................................................................................................3
Procedure........................................................................................................................................4
Results and Calculations.................................................................................................................4
Discussion.......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................................6

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 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM
Introduction
During this lab session we were asked to examine and find the densities and specific
weight of three different liquids these are; Water, Glycerin and Glycerol using a universal device
called a Hydrometer. Which is a long graduated glass tube that has a material with a heavy
material at its bottom such as mercury or lead; this causes it to flow, however due to this the
hydrometer actually measures the Relative density because the density of the liquid in question
is given as a reference to a given material in this case mercury.
Note that the hydrometer is graduated meaning it has numbers on it which are in g/cm3 these
numbers are labeled on the tube from the lowest to the highest going from the bottom to the top.
Moreover, the hydrometer works on the principle of Archimedes' law or Bouncy, which
states that a body submerged in water will be acted upon by forces that are a product of pressure
and elevation from the water at all times along with its own weight. Knowing that the volume of
the dispensed fluid will equal the volume of the submerged body. One should also add that the
magnitude of the bounty force will always be the same no matter the depth since all the forces
acting up, down or on the sides will increase at the same rate hence creating stability.
However, the degree to which the hydrometer sinks down is dependent on the type of the
fluid, from its density along with its specific gravity.
Also, one should understand the difference between the terms since density is the
measure of the amount of mass per unit volume while specific weight is the ratio of the weight
to the volume. These equations are usually put to use when finding them :
Density = mass/ volume Kg/m3
Specific gravity Gs = weight/ volume = density * 9.81 N/m3.

Objectives
This test aims to help us in determining both the Density and the Specific weight of
certain liquids that have been pre-determined by the lab instructor. Not only this but also we are
to study the numbers yielded so as to discus and compare them, to better understand the
behavior of these fluids.

Apparatus and Materials

During this lab session the experiment of finding the density and the specific gravity was
conducted three times using three different liquids which are; Water, Glycerin and Glycerol.

Tools used included:

1. A balance, to find the mass of the cylinder with and without water.
2. 3 graduated cylinder, each filled with each of the liquids.
3. Different liquids as mentioned before.

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 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM
4. A thermometer, used to measure the tempreture of each of the fluids used.
5. A hydrometer, which is a universal standard device used to measure the density of fluids
in grams/cm3.

Procedure
The steps followed during this experiment are as follows:
1. Measure the mass of the graduated cylinder empty.
2. Fill the cylinder with a known volume of water, in our case 200ML, then find the mass
of it with water. Note: these two first steps are to be used to find the theoretical standard
Density of water.
3. Then using the thermometer find the temperature of water in that cylinder and write it
down.
4. Insert the hydrometer in the water filled cylinder and allow it to free fall with
acceleration gravity which is 9.81m/sec2, then note down the density number read on the
device.
5. Fill another cylinder with the second liquid, this time Glycerin and take the temperature
of this liquid in room temp.
6. Let the hydrometer free fall into this liquid and then read and note down the density
obtained.
7. Finally, with a third cylinder fill it with Glycerol, and take its temperature in that
condition.
8. Insert the hydrometer and allow it to free fall then read the density number that was
obtained.
9. Using the numbers obtained at those specific conditions of temperature and pressure,
find the specific gravity and the standardized values at that specific temperature, to be
able to find the uncertainty and write down the discussion.

Results and Calculations

The following table shows the numbers obtained from the lab for the three different
liquids along with the calculated numbers these are the Specific gravity and the true values
which are obtained from online resources under standardized conditions at this specific
temperature:

Liquids Density Specific Temp in Cel. True Values of

(g/cm3) Weight Density.
Using Hydro. in N/m3 kg/m3
Water 1 9810 25o 1000
Glycerin 1.3 12753 25o 1260
Glycerol 1.32 12949.2 25o 1260

Notes:

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 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM
The density in the above table was read from the hydrometer in the three liquids in
g/cm3.
The specific weight was calculated using the equation (GS= density * 9.81) N/m3, of
course after converting the density to kg/m3.
True values in the last column are obtained from online resources.
To calculate water density in the lab we use the numbers obtained:
mass of empty cylinder = 0.551 kg
mass of cylinder + water = 0.736 kg
Volume of water = 200 ML that is 0.0002m3.
Thus density of water = mass/ volume, which is = (0.736-0.551)/0.0002 = 925 kg/m3

To calculate error and uncertainty:

It is the absolute value of the (exact - the experimental )*100/exact

1. Water using the values found using the hydrometer and the value calculated
using mass and volume. exact is 925 kg/m3 and experimental is 1000 kg/m3.
Thus the error % =8.11%
2. Glycerin using values obtained from the hydrometer analysis as the experimental
value which is 1300 kg/m3 and the true value as 1260 kg/m3. The error % =
3.17%
3. Glycerol taking the experimental value as 1320 kg/m3 obtained from the test and
the exact value as 1260 kg/m3. Then the error % = 4.81%.

Discussion
First of all we should note that this experiment was done in regular room temperature
25C degrees and pressure hence we can compare our results and find errors and uncertainties by
comparing the numbers we have computed with global standardized tables and numbers at the
same temperatures and pressures.
When talking about temperature we have to know the effect it has on density as they are
both inversely proportional meaning if temp. increases the density of a fluid will decrease. In
other words when the temp increases the farther away will the molecules be away from each
other. And the other way around.
Note: hence the lower the temperature the tighter and closer will the molecules be from each
other ( they will be packed) meaning the higher will the density be. This way more Buoyant
forces will be generated and they will push the hydrometer up more so it will read a larger
number. Because as mentioned in the introduction the hydrometer is number calibrated form the
lower to the higher values, with having the higher values at the top.
With this having been mentioned, we come to notice that at the same room temperature
that is 25 degrees, both the measured values using the hydrometer and the true values found
online for Water were less than those of Glycerin and Glycerol. Furthermore, we conclude that
the two other materials have greater density than water at the same conditions resulting in
greater Buoyant forces pushing the hydrometer higher up.
Of course these differences are due to the molecule and ionic structure of the substance. Since
Glycerin and Glycerol are very similar we find that their densities are very close to each other
unlike Water.

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 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM
The uncertainties may have occurred due to improper handling of the apparatus, or these
tools not having been calibrated and even the existence of impurities in the tested liquids or
even the level of eye sight of the person reading the numbers on the tubes may vary resulting in
slight differences in final numbers. Even though the error percentages calculated are relatively
small.
Finally, paying more attention to the surrounding conditions and to handling the tools may help
in more accurate results.

Conclusion
To sum up, we have come to find that the hydrometer sinks more in lighter less dense
liquids due to the less buoyant forces that are applied from the molecules than that of heavier
liquids. Results also showed that Water has a density of about 1000 kg/m3 at room temp.
whereas both Glycerin and Glycerol densities' were around 1300 kg/m3, with an error
percentage of 8.1%, 3.17% and 4.81% in order. Moreover this test is considered to be an
accurate testing method for different liquids.

References
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-gravity-liquids-d_336.html

https://www.scribd.com/doc/261555910/Lab-Report-Operation-Unit-Experiment-1-b-
Measuring-specific-gravity-of-a-liquid-by-using-hydrometer-method

https://www.google.jo/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fluids
%20density%20using%20the%20hydrometer%20lab%20report

6 | www.aum.edu.jo
 American University of Madaba
Faculty of Engineering.
Department of Civil Engineering.

Fall Semester 2016-2017.

AUM

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