A student determined the density of a cube made of bronze - AQA - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 4 - 2021 - Paper 1

The student could reset the balance to zero grams before weighing the cube. This way, the reading will accurately reflect the mass of the cube.

The results in Table 1 show that the Vernier callipers and the micrometer have a different resolution.

1. Place the measuring cylinder on a horizontal surface to ensure a stable reading.
2. View with eye in line with the level of the water to minimize parallax error.

The student could add several coins to the measuring cylinder filled with water. Then, measure the change in the water level in the measuring cylinder. Finally, divide the increase in water level by the number of coins added to find the volume of a single coin.

To find X, first calculate the area:

$Area = \frac{Mass}{Density} = \frac{3.6g}{8.9g/cm^3} \approx 0.4045 \: cm^2$

Using the volume formula:

$Volume = Area \times Thickness = 0.4045 \: cm^2 \times 0.17 \: cm \approx 0.0688 \: cm^3$

Now, calculate density for the new penny:

$Density = \frac{Mass}{Volume} = \frac{3.6g}{0.0688cm^3} \approx 52.48 \: g/cm^3$

Therefore, value X in Table 2 is approximately 52.5 g/cm³ to two significant figures.