A student is given two solid metal cylinders, labeled X and Y, and a standard digital vernier caliper, as shown in the diagram below.
An engineer states that:
- one of the cylinders is made of a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V)
- the other cylinder is made of stainless steel (Grade 316)
The student looks up the density values of these materials in an engineering database:
- density of titanium alloy = 4430 kg/m3
- density of stainless steel = 8000 kg/m3
The student has access to more of the same cylindrical specimens and may request any additional laboratory measuring instruments.
Plan an investigation to determine the density of each cylinder as accurately as possible, in order to identify which cylinder is made of titanium alloy and which is made of stainless steel.