Question

A miner discovered some yellow nuggets at the bottom of a shallow stream. The nuggets weighed 96.5 grams and had a volume of 5 ml. Were the nuggets gold or “ fool’s gold”(pyrite)? The density of gold is 19.3 g/ml and that of pyrite is 5 g/ml at 20 degrees Celsius. Show your calculations to justify your answer.

Answer 1

$\rho= \frac{m}{v}$

$\rho=\frac{96.5}{5}=19.5g/cm^3$

$\therefore$ The yellow nuggets are gold because they have the density of gold.