EXPERIMENT NO.

1:
SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF LIQUIDS
(Please refer to Assignment Guide for the format, content, and the rubrics for assessment)

Think about why it is necessary to learn about fluid properties. Are you familiar with the
properties of water? Why is it called the universal solvent? Answers to these questions
should be included in the Discussion of theory.

The objective of the experiment is to determine the specific gravity of a liquid.

What you need: 2 to 3 feet long 3/8” clear tube or level hose (available from hardware),
board/ piece of wood, vegetable oil, water, various liquids (i.e., alcohol, soy sauce, milk,
etc.) ruler, dropper or syringe, thermometer

What to do:

1. Secure your clear tube on a board/ piece of wood so that it

is in a U position as shown, using thumbtacks or tape. Make
sure not to poke any holes on the tube.

2. Take the water temperature using the thermometer and

check with your textbook its corresponding specific gravity at
that temperature. Record.

3. Drop an amount of water into the U-tube using the dropper/ syringe. Make sure
that the amount of water is enough to occupy the lowest part of the U-tube.
The water level in the left and right legs of the U-tube should be almost the
same.

4. Drop an amount of vegetable oil into the left leg of the U-tube, and then into
the right leg. Make sure they are of unequal heights, one obviously greater
than the other. Tap the tube to remove bubbles formed or use a long stick to
poke them out to the surface.

5. Using your ruler, measure the height of vegetable oil on the left and then the
right leg of the U-tube. Record the greater height as ℎ and smaller as ℎ (See
Figure). Take note that the ℎ should always be the greater height.

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 6. Measure the difference in level between the interfaces (where the oil and
water meet but do not mix) and record it as ℎ .

7. Compute the specific gravity (SG) of vegetable oil using the formula:
ℎ
𝑆𝐺 =
ℎ −ℎ

8. Repeat steps 4 to 7 until 4 trials.

9. With the known specific gravity of vegetable oil, we will now use this as the
gage liquid to determine the specific gravity of the other liquids. Using water
will not work since it mixes with most liquids leaving no interface to read from.

10. Empty the U-tube for the second liquid. If the unknown liquid floats on the
vegetable oil, the formula for SG is:
ℎ
𝑆𝐺 = 𝑆𝐺
ℎ −ℎ

If the vegetable oil floats over the unknown liquid, the formula changes to:

ℎ −ℎ
𝑆𝐺 = 𝑆𝐺
ℎ

11. Do four (4) trials for the unknown liquid, record and submit to your group
leader for compilation.

12. Compute and record the average specific gravity of each liquid. There
should be at least 5 liquids in your group’s data and results.

Derive the formula used in determining the specific gravity for when (a) the gage liquid
is denser than the unknown liquid, and (b) when the unknown liquid is denser than the
gage liquid. What are the practical applications of this experiment? Answers to these
questions should be included in the Discussion of theory.

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in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written
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 (Computational problems under ELABORATE shall be included in the problem set at the
end of the individual report)

Answer the following problems:

1. A U-tube manometer is connected to a closed tank

containing air and water is shown. At the closed
end of the manometer the air pressure is 16 psia.
Determine the reading on the pressure gage for a
differential reading of 4 ft on the manometer.
Express your answer in psi (gage). Assume standard
atmospheric pressure and neglect the weight of
the air columns in the manometer.

2. Two pipes are connected by a manometer as shown.

Determine the pressure difference, between the pipes
in kPa.

Prepare the Data and Results in the format shown below.

Data and Results:

Water Temperature: _____ °C
Specific Gravity of water used: ______ Specific Gravity of oil used: ______

GAGE LIQUID: LIQUID 1: LIQUID 2: …….. LIQUID 5:

Vegetable oil ___ ___ ___
TRIAL

ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ , ℎ ,
𝑆𝐺 𝑆𝐺 𝑆𝐺 𝑆𝐺
mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
1
2
3
4
Average SG

The data and results table, and complete computations shall be reflected on BOTH the individual
and group reports.

Property of and for the exclusive use of SLU. Reproduction, storing in a retrieval system, distributing, uploading or posting online, or transmitting 110
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise of any part of this document, without the prior written
permission of SLU, is strictly prohibited.