Inquiry Investigation:
Relating Mass and
Volume
307-11 analyze quantitatively the density of
various substances
210-7 & 307-11 Analyze quantitatively the
density of various substances and suggest
explanations for discrepancies in data, such
as the measurement of the volume of
irregular objects by water displacement.
How are mass and volume
related?
Mass is a measure of the amount of substance of which an
object is made. In addition to having mass, fluids and solids
also occupy space.
Volume is a measure of the amount of space taken up by a
fluid or solid.
Capacity Unit
Cubic Unit
1 mL
1 cm3
1L
1000 cm3
1000 L
1m3
The volume and mass of a given material are related to
each other: their ratio is a physical property called density.
100mL of distilled water = 100g.
The density of water is 1.00g/mL.
Exploring Density
• Get into groups of 4.
• Get some water in a container.
• Find 10 objects/liquids and make
predictions on whether they will
float or sink and explain why for
each.
• Test each object and record your
results.
• Calculate the density of 5 of the
objects.