Mass Versus Volume In the 1981 movie "Raiders of the
Lost Ark," there is a scene where Indiana Jones attempts
to switch a gold statue with a bag of sand. The gold statue
is protected from theft by a triggering device. The switch must
be made with a mass that is equal to the gold statue to avoid
springing the trap and bringing disaster to Indiana Jones.
The density of sand is 2.5 g/cm3 and the density of gold is 19.3 g/cm3. The approximate volume of the gold statue is that of a large pickle bottle or 1.0-quart.
One quart is equal to 0.946 liter and 1 liter is defined as 1 dm3. Another useful conversion is 1 pound equals 453.5 grams.
Did Indiana Jones have a reasonable chance of exchanging the bag of sand for the gold statue? Determine the mass of the bag of sand and the mass of the gold statue in grams, if they
both had a volume of 1 quart.
Determine the volume of sand needed to give the same mass as
the gold statue.
If the gold statue was hollow or made of brass, density = 7.8
g/cm3, would there be a reasonable chance for a switch?
