How to Find the Mass of Crystals

Calibrate the Balance

• 1

  Set the balance on a fixed, flat surface.

• 2

  Move the three sliders on the three beams to the left so that they read zero.

• 3

  If the indicator on the far right does not line up with the fixed mark, adjust the screw under the pan until the two marks are aligned.

Measure the Crystals

• 4

  Place the crystals to be measured on the pan.

• 5

  Move the 100-gram slider along the beam to the right just until the indicator drops below the fixed mark. Position the slider on the notched position immediately to the left of that point. This position indicates the number of hundreds of grams

• 6

  Move the 10-gram slider along the beam to the right until the indicator drops below the fixed mark. .

• 7

  Move the slider in front until the fixed marks on the far right line up exactly with one another. The beam in front is not notched and indicates 0 to 10 grams. The slider can move anywhere along the beam.

Calculate the Mass

• 8

  Read and record the numbers from each of the three beams.

• 9

  Add those numbers together.

• 10

  Record the mass of the crystals in grams.