1. The experiment aimed to prepare a mud with a known density and then increase its density by adding barite. Barite has a high specific gravity of 4.2, which allows mud density to be increased up to 21 pounds per gallon. 2. Procedures involved mixing bentonite and water to form a mud, then weighing and adding barite while stirring. The mud balance was used to check densities before and after barite addition. 3. Barite is the most common weighting agent due to its ability to significantly increase mud density up to 21 ppg, control formation pressures, and stability. It is also readily available and chemically inert.