Question

Describe an experiment, using Archimedes principle, to find relative density of a liquid. 

Answer 1

Relative density is the ratio of weight of a given volume of liquid to the weight of the same volume of water.

Using Archimedes principle, we can perform an experiment which measures the weight of a liquid displaced by a body and weight of water displaced by the same body.

Weight of liquid displaced by a body is given by the difference of weight of a body in air and weight of a body in liquid.

Weight of the water displaced by the body can be found by knowing the difference of the weight of the body in air and the weight of the body in water.

Therefore, using Archimedes principle, the relative density can be calculated using the formula :

RD of Liquid = `(W_1 - W_2)/(W_1 - W_3)`