Question

a 55 gallon drum holds 309.8 pounds of gasoline or 459.0 pounds of water.

1-which is more dense: gasoline or water

2- gasoline and water do not mix, rather they form two separate phases. Which liquid will be on top and which will be on the bottom

Answer 1

1. ) Given 55 gallon drums . Converting to litre,

1 gallon = 3.78 litre

Thus 55 gallon = 55 x 3.78 = 207.9 L

Mass is given in pounds. Coverting to kg,

1 pound = 0.45kg

Thus 309.8 pound gasoline = 309.8 x 0.45 = 139.41 kg

459 pound water = 459 x 0.45 = 206.55 kg

Thus determine density as,

density = mass / volume

density of gasoline = 139.41 kg / 207.9 = 0.67 kg/L

density of water = 206.55 kg / 207.9 = 0.99 kg /L

thus,

gasoline has a density of  0.67 kg/L whereas water has  0.99 kg/L. Clearly, water is more denser than gasoline.

2. The layer with the highest density will stay at the bottom. Thus gasoline will form a layer above water.