Explanation:
According to Buoyance equation,
m = [tex][m' \times \frac{1 - \frac{d_{a}}{d_{w}}}{1 - \frac{d_{a}}{d}}][/tex]
where, m = true mass
m' = mass read from the balance = 17.320 g
[tex]d_{a}[/tex] = density of air = 0.0012 g/ml
[tex]d_{w}[/tex] = density of the balance = 7.5 g/ml
d = density of liquid octane = 0.7025 g/ml
Now, putting all the given values into the above formula and calculate the true mass as follows.
m = [tex][m' \times \frac{1 - \frac{d_{a}}{d_{w}}}{1 - \frac{d_{a}}{d}}][/tex]
= [tex][17.320 g \times \frac{1 - \frac{0.0012 g/ml}{7.5 g/ml}}{1 - \frac{0.0012 g/ml}{0.7025}}][/tex]
= [tex]17.320 g \times 0.999850[/tex]
= 17.317 g
Thus, we can conclude that the true mass of octane is 17.317 g.