The Determination of the Relationship between Density and Concentration of Sodium Chloride

Solutions Lab Report

By:
Sophia Wiest
9/22/17
Purpose:
The purpose of this lab is to develop a mathematical model relating the concentration of a
solution to its density, and to use this model to determine the concentration of solutions of
unknown concentration from the densities.
Procedure:
Using an analytical balance, determine the masses of 10.00 mL samples of each of the solutions
of known concentration and unknown concentration.
Experimental Data:
Data for Solutions 5%-25%
Equation:
Density = m/V
Density = 10.012 g/10.00mL= 1.001g/mL

Density (g/mL) Percent % Mass (g) Volume (mL)

0.99 5 9.9 10
1.02 10 10.2 10
1.06 15 10.6 10
1.11 20 11.1 10
1.14 25 11.4 10

Equation:
Density = m/V
Take density answer and multiply by 100

Data Solutions Unknown 1 and 2

Unknown Density (g/mL) Unknown Percent %
1.08 17.03%
1.02 9.39%

Density = m/V
Take density and multiply by 100
 Graph Solutions 5%-25%

Relationship between % Concentration Density

30

25 y = 127.28x - 120.43
R² = 0.9928
% Concentration

20

15

10

0
0.98 1 1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.1 1.12 1.14 1.16

Density (g/mL)
Graph for Unknown 1 and 2

Relationship between % Concentration Density

1.2

1
% Concentration

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Series1 Series2

Density (g/mL)
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we demonstrated that a linear relationship exists between the density and
concentration of sodium chloride solutions, and that the relationship can be used to make
predictions about the properties of solutions of unknown concentration.
Discussion Theory:
As the concentration of a solution increases, the density of the solution increases in linear
fashion. Our data supports this concept, within reasonable margins of error. The purpose of the
lab was fulfilled when we were able to use the mathematical model for this linear relationship to
predict the concentration of solutions of unknown concentration based on their densities.
Error Analysis:
We failed to take into account the mass of the graduated cylinder when finding the mass of the
solutions. As a result, the mass of each solution was too high, and the resulting density was also
too large. Also the solutions were left out overnight causing the water to evaporate and making
the solutions more concentrated.