What is the relationship between Mass & Matter?
What exactly is matter and how does it relate to mass?
Matter is all of the "stuff", or atoms and molecules, that make up an object. Mass is the measurement of all of that "stuff". It's the amount of matter in an object. Matter has both mass and volume and many other properties. Today, we're just going to examine how matter influences mass. |
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In today's lab - we examined the question - "What is the relationship between mass and matter?"
To do this, we used two different types of beans and a triple beam balance. To start off with, we needed to identify the variables and rephrase the question to reflect the materials we had to work with and then form the hypothetical test statement. Therefore: Variables:
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Question:
How does the (Independent Variable) affect the (Dependent Variable).
Hypothesis: If I (change) the (independent variable) Then the (dependent variable) will (change based on expected outcome) Because (hypothesis)
Experimental Design: To test out our hypothesis, we will take a 2 beans and place them on the triple beam balance to see how much mass those two beans have. Next, we will increase the number of beans by 2. |
Materials:
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Procedures:
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Qualitative Observations
Here, write some observations that happened either before, during, or after the experiment that are NOT numerical.
Here, write some observations that happened either before, during, or after the experiment that are NOT numerical.
- We noticed that some of the beans were split in half or had other abnormalities - so we tossed those from the pile.
- We noticed that the triple beam balance had some issues when we were measuring out the cup. It must not have very much mass.
- We noticed that the Kidney Beans were slightly larger in size (nearly double) compared to the black bean - could this also mean that it has more mass?
Quantitative Observations:
Data:
Data:
Data Analysis:
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Conclusion:
In our experiment - we were examining to see how the number of beans affected mass. We hypothesized that if we increased the number of beans, the mass will also increase because we are increasing the amount of atoms and molecules present. According to Dr. Padilla, from Clemson University, mass is the amount of matter an object has - and matter is made up of tiny small particles also known as atoms and molecules (2009); therefore, if we increased the amount of atoms and molecules present on the Triple Beam Balance, the more mass the TBB will indicate.
Our research shows this is the case. In our experiment - we increased the number of beans to see how it affected mass. As we increased the number of beans, we noticed an increase in mass as expected - which meant that initially our hypothesis is correct - in that as you increase the amount of matter - the mass will also increase. To minimize the experimental errors - we noticed that some of the beans had split in half, had skins pealed, or were chipped in some way - and therefore tossed them away. We only wanted the purest samples to experiment with.
We also noticed that the larger kidney bean was slightly larger in size - and we assumed that due to its size, that it would have more mass. Indeed - its mass is 1.8 times greater - so we thought that we would also investigate the difference in volume. It's volume, compared to the black beans, is only slightly bigger. When we examined the volume of 6 Kidney beans to 6 black beans, we noticed that there was only 1 mL difference between the two. This tells me that the Kidney Beans are slightly more dense than the black bean. When calculated, we found that the Kidney Bean indeed is slightly more dense than the black bean - what this means is that the Kidney Bean has more atomic material than the black beans. This only prompted a small question as to why does one bean more dense than the other? And, could this mean that it also has more nutritional value per gram? This is a question that would solicit more research.
In our experiment - we were examining to see how the number of beans affected mass. We hypothesized that if we increased the number of beans, the mass will also increase because we are increasing the amount of atoms and molecules present. According to Dr. Padilla, from Clemson University, mass is the amount of matter an object has - and matter is made up of tiny small particles also known as atoms and molecules (2009); therefore, if we increased the amount of atoms and molecules present on the Triple Beam Balance, the more mass the TBB will indicate.
Our research shows this is the case. In our experiment - we increased the number of beans to see how it affected mass. As we increased the number of beans, we noticed an increase in mass as expected - which meant that initially our hypothesis is correct - in that as you increase the amount of matter - the mass will also increase. To minimize the experimental errors - we noticed that some of the beans had split in half, had skins pealed, or were chipped in some way - and therefore tossed them away. We only wanted the purest samples to experiment with.
We also noticed that the larger kidney bean was slightly larger in size - and we assumed that due to its size, that it would have more mass. Indeed - its mass is 1.8 times greater - so we thought that we would also investigate the difference in volume. It's volume, compared to the black beans, is only slightly bigger. When we examined the volume of 6 Kidney beans to 6 black beans, we noticed that there was only 1 mL difference between the two. This tells me that the Kidney Beans are slightly more dense than the black bean. When calculated, we found that the Kidney Bean indeed is slightly more dense than the black bean - what this means is that the Kidney Bean has more atomic material than the black beans. This only prompted a small question as to why does one bean more dense than the other? And, could this mean that it also has more nutritional value per gram? This is a question that would solicit more research.