a pipet can be calibrated. we expected the volume to be 25.00ml, but the actual volume was significantly less. if you had measured the density of an unknown with this pipet and assumed that v=25.00ml, your result would not be correct. would it be too high or too low? Explain
the value would be too high because the density should have had a denominator that was a bit lower and a numerator of grams
If the actual volume of the pipet is significantly less than the expected 25.00 mL, it means that the pipet is delivering less liquid than it should per measurement. As a result, if you were to measure the density of an unknown using this pipet and assume that the volume is 25.00 mL, your result would be too low.
Here's the explanation:
Density is defined as the mass of a substance divided by its volume. When measuring the density, you need to accurately measure both the mass and the volume of the substance. In this case, the volume measurement is affected by the under-delivery of the pipet.
Assuming that the pipet is consistently delivering less liquid, it means that the volume of the unknown liquid you'd measure would be underestimated. Consequently, the calculated density would be too low.
To obtain accurate results, it is important to calibrate the pipet to ensure it delivers the expected volume accurately. Calibration involves adjusting the pipet to deliver the correct volume by comparing its actual performance with a reference standard.
If the measured volume with the pipet was significantly less than the expected volume of 25.00 ml, it means that the pipet is delivering less volume than it should. Therefore, if you were to measure the density of an unknown substance with this pipet and assume that the volume is exactly 25.00 ml, your result would be too low.
To understand why, let's consider the formula for density:
Density = mass/volume
If the pipet is delivering less volume than it should, the actual volume of the unknown substance that you are measuring would be less than 25.00 ml. Since the volume in the formula is smaller than it should be, the calculated density would be higher. This is because when you divide the mass of the substance by a smaller volume, you get a larger density value.
Therefore, if you assume the volume is 25.00 ml when it is actually less due to the calibration issue of the pipet, your calculated density would be too low because the denominator (volume) is smaller than it should be, resulting in a higher density value.