Measuring Volumes - Technique Laboratory

Motivation

Many chemical reactions

take place in the solution

phase with the reacting

chemicals dissolved in a

liquid solvent. In

environmental and

biological applications,

that solvent is routinely

water. In the synthesis of

organic compounds for

medicines, fabrics,

plastics, etc., the solvent

is typically something

other than water. No

matter your primary

experimental scientific

interests (biology,

chemistry, earth sciences,

medicine, etc.), you will

likely work with liquid

samples.

A convenient and often

used measurement for

quantifying the amount of

a liquid is its volume. This

is true for everyday

products we use like

gasoline, water, or milk,

and it is true in the

chemistry laboratory, too. In this lab we will explore different techniques and

tools for measuring liquid volumes, explore their accuracy and precision, and

determine when the different tools will be appropriate.

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Figure 3.1: "Oxfam engineer tests the water quality" by Oxfam

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