Name ______________________________________________ Date ____________________Class ___________________________

CHAPTER 2 ChemLAB
Use Density to Date A Coin
A penny that has had its date scratched off is found at a crime scene. The year the
coin was minted is important to the case. A forensics technician claims she can
determine if the coin was minted before 1982 without altering the coin in any way.
Knowing that pennies minted from 1962 to 1982 are 95% copper and 5% zinc,
whereas those minted after 1982 are 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, hypothesize about
what the technician will do.

Chemistry: Matter and Change 1 ChemLab Worksheets

Name ______________________________________________ Date ____________________Class ___________________________

CHAPTER 2 ChemLAB
Problem
How can you use density to determine Objectives Materials
whether a penny was minted before  Predict whether the pre- water Metric ruler
1982? 1982 or the post-1982 100-mL graduated pencil
pennies will have a cylinder graph paper
higher mass and volume small plastic cup graphing calculator
 Measure the volume balance (optional)
and mass of pennies Pre-1982 pennies (25)
 Draw conclusions Post-1982 pennies (25)
based on your analysis.

Safety Precautions
 Always wear safety goggles and a lab apron.

Chemistry: Matter and Change 3 ChemLab Worksheets

Pre-Lab 7. Review the equation to calculate percent error.
____________________________________________
1. Read the entire CHEMLAB.
____________________________________________
2. Prepare all written materials that you will take into the
laboratory. Be sure to include safety precautions and ____________________________________________
procedure notes.
____________________________________________
Procedure
3. Review the equation for density. What would be the
impact on density of increasing mass while keeping 1. Read and complete the lab safety form.
volume constant? 2. Record all measurements in your data table.
____________________________________________ 3. Measure the mass of the plastic cup.
____________________________________________ 4. Pour about 50-mL of water into the graduated cylinder.
4. Increasing the amount of the heavier element in an Record the actual volume.
object would increase the density of the object. Do you
expect the pre-1982 pennies or the post-1982 pennies
would have the higher density?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

5. What was the make-up of pennies before 1962? How

would you expect the density of pre-1962 pennies
compare to pennies made post-1982? Between 1962
and 1982?
____________________________________________
6. Large objects cannot be placed in water to determine
their volume. Determine a procedure that could be used
to calculate the density of such an object.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
5. Add 5 pre-1982 pennies to the cup, and measure the
mass again.
6. Add the 5 pennies to the graduated cylinder, and read
the volume.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 four times. After five trials there
will be 25 pennies in the graduated cylinder.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7, using post-1982
pennies.
9. Cleanup and Disposal Pour the water from the
graduated cylinder down the drain, being careful
not to lose any of the pennies. Dry the pennies
with a paper towel.
 The Density of a Penny
Trial Mass of Pennies Total Number of Total Mass of Pennies Total Volume of Water
Added (g) Pennies (g) Displaced (mL)
1 5
2 10
3 15
4 20
5 25

Analyze and Conclude

1. Calculate Complete the data table by calculating the total mass and the total volume of water
displaced for each trial.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Make and Use Graphs Graph total mass versus total volume for the pre-1982 and
post- 1982 pennies. Plot and label two lines on the graph, one for pre-1982 pennies and
one for post-1982 pennies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Make and Use Graphs Draw a best-fit line through each set of points. Use two points on each line
to calculate the slope.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Infer Examine the units for the slopes of the lines. Verifying the slopes of the lines give you the
density of the pre-1982 pennies and density of the post-1982 pennies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Apply Can you determine if a penny was minted before or after 1982 if you know only its mass?
Explain how the relationship among volume, mass, and density support using a mass-only
identification technique.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Error Analysis Determine the percent error in the density of each coin.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Inquiry Extension
Compare your results with those from the rest of the class. Are they consistent? If not, explain how
you could refine your investigation to ensure more accurate results. Calculate a class average density
of the pre–1982 pennies and the density of the post–1982 pennies. Determine the percent error of each
average.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 TEACHER GUIDE AND ANSWERS
ChemLab 2 – Use Density to Date a Coin 4. Verifying the slopes of the lines give you the density
Pre-Lab of the pre–1982 pennies and density of the post–1982
pennies.
3. Increasing the mass of an object will increase the
density if the volume is held constant. 5. Both pennies have similar volume but the mass is
different, therefore the density is different. Mass can
4. The post-1982 pennies should be more dense since be used to identify both pre and post 1982 pennies.
they contain more Zinc.
6. Pre 1982 pennies (9.0  8.96)/8.96 100  0.45%
5. From 1864 to 1962 pennies were 95% copper and 5%
error
tin and zinc. Since tin is heavier than zinc, the pre-
1962 pennies will be more dense. Post 1982 pennies (7.1  7.16)/7.16 100  0.84%
error
6. The mass of the object could be calculated after
determining the composition of the object, and then Inquiry Extension
density could be calculated. The results should be consistent. More accurate
observed value  true value results could be achieved with a graduated cylinder
7. % error   100% that reads a more accurate volume. Make sure the
true value
pennies are dry before they are massed.
Analyze and Conclude
1. Refer to the Solutions Manual.
2. Refer to the Solutions Manual.
3. The slope for pre–1982 penny is 7.1g/mL. The slope
for post–1982 penny is 9.0 g/mL.

Chemistry: Matter and Change 5 Teacher Guide and Answers