October 12, 2017 SBA 3: Accuracy and Precision Cape Chemistry Unit II

Name: .................................................................. Form :.................

SBA 3: Accuracy and Precision
graded for MM and AI, manipulation and measurement and analysis and interpretation

Aim: To determine the volume of water discharged by a measuring cylinder and by a pipette.

Apparatus and electronic balance; 10 cm3 pipette; measuring cylinder, 50 cm3; 50 cm3 and 100 cm3 beakers; pipette
Materials: filler; thermometer; distilled water.
Procedure: Procedure A
1. Wash the pipette thoroughly with distilled water.
2. Place 60 cm3 of distilled water into a 100 cm3 beaker and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
3. Weigh a clean, dry 100 cm3 beaker and record its weight to the nearest 0.1 g. (in fume chamber
to avoid air draft)
4. Measure and record the temperature of the water in the 100 cm3 beaker.
5. Use the pipette filler to transfer exactly 10 cm3 of distilled water into the pre-weighed 100 cm3
beaker.
6. Using the balance weigh and record the mass of the beaker + water.
7. Determine the mass of the water discharged from the pipette.
8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 until a total of 5 measurements are obtained.
9. Measure the temperature of the water again and calculate the mean temperature.
10. Record all results in a table.
𝑚
11. Determine the volume of water delivered from the pipette using the equation 𝑉 = , where m is
𝑑
the mass in grams and d is the density in g/cm3.
Procedure B
1. Weigh a clean, dry 50 cm3 measuring cylinder and record its weight to the nearest 0.1 g.
2. Fill the measuring cylinder to the 10 cm3 mark, and weigh it again.
3. Record the reading of the balance.
4. Then fill the measuring cylinder up to the 20 cm3 mark and weigh again.
5. Repeat in steps of 10 cm3 until you have 50 cm3 in the measuring cylinder.
6. Calculate the error in using the measuring cylinder assuming that the balance is precise.
7. Record all measurements in a table.

Data Analysis: 1. Calculate the mean mass of water discharged from the pipette.
2. Draw a graph to show the temperature dependency of the density of water using the
following table:

temperature / °C 26 28 30 32 34 36

density of water / g/cm3 0.99678 0.99623 0.99565 0.99503 0.99438 0.99369

3. Calculate the mean volume of water discharged by the pipette, using the density at the
temperature of your determination.
4. Calculate the standard deviation of the five masses from question 1 and convert it to
volume as well.
5. State the capacity of the pipette in the format
mean volume ± standard deviation
6. What does the standard deviation value obtained indicate about the volume delivered by
the pipette?
7. State the capacity of the pipette as shown on the label on the pipette you have used and
calculate the percentage error using the formula below:
𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 − 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛
%𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100%
𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛
8. Discuss any sources of error in your measurement and comment on the accuracy and the
precision of the pipette.
9. Calculate the mean value for the five measurements using the measuring cylinder.
10. Calculate the standard deviation of the five measurements.
11. Do steps 5 – 8 for the measurements of the measuring cylinder.

Morant Bay High School 1 Dr. P. Dollenmeier

October 12, 2017 SBA 3: Accuracy and Precision Cape Chemistry Unit II

Morant Bay High School 2 Dr. P. Dollenmeier