Density

Density of a substance is defined as "the mass of substance per unit volume".

Density = Mass / Volume
The S.I unit of density is kg/m3 or g/cm3
Mass of the substance can be found by using common level balance. Volume of a
substance can either be found by calculation from linear measurements or by usning
measuring cylinder.
Density of water = 1 g / cm3 = 1000 kg / m3

Determination of density (Regular shaped objects)

By measuring the dimentions of regular shaped object we can detremine the its volume by
using mathematical formula.
Volume = Length X Width X Height
By using balance we can find mass of the object.
Putting the values of mass and volume in the following formula, we can detrmine the
density of the regular shaped object
Density = mass / volume

Determination of density (Irregular shaped objects)

To determine the density of irregular shaped objects, we use displacement method to
calculate the volume of the iregular shaped object.
Use the balance to find the mass (m) of object choose the measuring cylinder that will
accept the object.add liquid to the cylinder to fill it enough,so that the object will be
completely submerged.measure volume v1 of liquid.
Lower the object into liquid and measure the new reading V2 so volume of object is
V=V1-V2
Density = mass ( m ) / volume ( V )

This method can only be used for the objects having densities greater than density of
water.
Density of different materials
Density of different materials are as under.

Substance

Density in g/cm3

Density kg/m3

Air

1.0

1.24

Fresh water

1.03

1000

Sea water

1.03

1030

Wood

0.5-1.3

500-1300

Magnesium

1.74

1740

Steel

7.8

7800

Mercury

13.6

13600

Silver

10.5

10500

Gold

19.3

19300

The relationship between density, mass and volume can be expressed as the following
formula:

Mass is measured in grams.

Volume is measured in cubic millilitres.

Finding the density of an irregularly shaped solid

To find the density of an irregularly shaped solid we need to do practical work. The volume
can be found out by measuring the volume of displaced liquid by an object. We can find the
volume of these solids with the following steps:
1. Weigh the object to find its mass as usual.
2. Find the object's volume.
Pouring water into two measuring cylinders is a method of finding the displacement. The
reading must be taken at the lowest level of meniscus (the curved upper surface of a liquid) or
curved surface of the liquid.
To find an object's volume, we need to do the following practical: