How Do You Measure Density Of A Floating Object?
If we measure a pound of feathers and a pound of lead and drop them from a second story, one object will float to the ground and the other will drop so fast it could injure passers-by. The difference is due to a property of matter called “density.” Water displacement is one of the ways that we can measure density, particularly density of irregularly shaped objects. But feathers float and require a special technique to measure displacement. Fill the graduated cylinder partially with water to a level where you can submerge the object and drop the sinker weight into the water. If you don’t have a graduated cylinder to fit your object, put a cylinder in a basin, fill it to the top with water and measure the overflow into the basin. Your answer will be less accurate because of the number of times the water has been moved. Note the amount of displacement in milliliters (ml) caused by the sinker and string. Measure the mass of your object (say a cork) on a balance scale in grams (g). Be sure
