Baer, Geology Program, Highline Community College, and Dr. This page was written and compiled by Dr. However, the content of Wikipedia articles may change and so you may want to be cautious. Wikipedia's Density page has a general discussion of density and its history, calculation, and units. Using the formula for density, Density () Mass (m) / Volume (V. Solution: We are given the volume of water as 500 milliliters, which is equivalent to 500 cubic centimeters (500 cm³). However, the content of Wikipedia articles may change and so you may want to be cautious. Example 1: Calculate the mass of 500 milliliters of water, given that the density of water is 1 gram per cubic centimeter. Wikipedia's specific gravity page has an explanation of what specific gravity is and how it is used and even discusses its use in the geosciences and mineralogy. This includes several related pages including instructions of measuring density using the Archimedes principle. Hyperphysics, at the Georgia State has a page about density and a density converter. It allows you to look at pictures of measurements and to enter data. Or, if you want even more practice, see the links belowĮdinformatics on-line lab on mass, volume and density is put together by NYU. If you think you have a handle on all of the things listed above click on this bar to try some practice problems with worked answers! Oceanography - some ocean currents and ocean circulation is controlled by density.The hypsometric curve - examining the causes of elevation variation on Earth.Rocks - determining the name and composition of a rock by its density.Minerals - determining the name of a mineral through its density.Plate tectonics - mechanisms that drive plate tectonics.Isostasy - determining how high continents will sit on the mantle.Have you ever noticed in a lake or the ocean that water is warmer at the surface and colder at the bottom? This is because the warmer water is slightly less dense and, as a result, floats on the denser, colder water.Have you wondered why hot air balloons rise? When the air is heated, it becomes less dense until the balloon's total density is less than that of the atmosphere A hot air balloon is literally floating on the denser, colder air.Here are some examples of how this explains everyday occurrences: Less dense substances will float on (or rise through) more dense substances. One of the most critical is that the density of a substance will determine if it will float on another. Why should I calculate density or specific gravity?ĭensities are critical for many uses. So we divide the basalt (210 lbs/ft 3) by the density of water (62.4 lbs/ft 3), and get S.G.= 3.37. For density, you also need to consider the size, or volume, of the object. A very large sponge may weigh a lot (have a high mass), but its density is low because it still weighs very little per unit of volume. The words heavy and light on their own refer to mass, and not density. Students, and even teachers, often confuse mass and density. If you pick up an iron skillet, you expect it to be heavy. You are not surprised when a large sponge is easy to lift. For example, sponges are low in density they have a low mass per unit volume. You probably have an intuitive feeling for density in the materials you use often. For example, gold will always have a density of 19.3 g/cm 3 if a mineral has a density other than that, it isn't gold. It is used quite often in identifying rocks and minerals since the density of substances rarely changes significantly. Moist unit weight The unit weight of a soil when void spaces of the soil contain both water and air.Density is a fundamental concept in the sciences you will see it throughout your studies. In soil mechanics, specific weight may refer to: Specific weight is often used as a property of soil to solve earthwork problems. Specific weight can be used as a characteristic property of a fluid. For this reason, units are expressed as force per unit volume (e.g., N/m 3 or lbf/ft 3).

In fluid mechanics, specific weight represents the force exerted by gravity on a unit volume of a fluid. Pressure may also affect values, depending upon the bulk modulus of the material, but generally, at moderate pressures, has a less significant effect than the other factors. It depends on the value of the gravitational acceleration, which varies with location. Unlike density, specific weight is not a fixed property of a material. The standard gravity is acceleration due to gravity, usually given in m/s 2, and on Earth usually taken as 9.81 m/s 2. The density of the material is defined as mass per unit volume, typically measured in kg/m 3.

Density of water in gm3