(/President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)

Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683

College / Department College of Agriculture and Forestry /

Environmental Science Department
Course Code Chem 1
Course Title General Chemistry 1
Place of the Course in the Program Core Science Course
Semester & Academic Year First Semester AY2020-21
Topic
Density and Specific Gravity

Introduction

A Styrofoam coffee cup is “light,” but a lead car battery is “heavy.” Actually, by themselves
these terms, light and heavy, are not very useful because a truckload of Styrofoam would be
quite heavy. The volume and mass of a substance are extensive properties that depend on the
size of the sample.

Some physical properties such as odor, color, and physical state can be determined by
observation. Others, such as melting or boiling point, must be determined by measurements.
Another important intensive physical property that is obtained from measurements is density.

Density as a Physical Property

The physical property of density is an intensive property that allows us to compare the
mass of substances for a specific volume. Density is the ratio of the mass (usually in grams)
to the volume (usually in milliliters for a solid or liquid or liters for a gas). The Greek letter
rho , ρ, is used to represent density:

Density (ρ) = mass / Volume

The density of a substance does not depend on the amount present. The density of lead will
always be greater than the density of Styrofoam, no matter how much is present.

The density of a pure substance is a property that can be used to identify a particular
element or compound. The densities of several liquids and solids are listed in Table 1.
(Because the volume of liquids and solids expand slightly as the temperature rises, densities
are usually given at a specific temperature. In this case, 20°C is the reference temperature.)
Because 1 mL is the same as 1 cm3, density is also expressed as g/cm3.

You can prove that the density of a substance does not depend on sample size with a
simple demonstration. If you had a beaker of water, you could measure its volume and mass
and from those two measurements calculate its density. If your lab partners were evaluating
some water in a smaller beaker, they would measure an appropriately smaller mass and
smaller volume. If you compared the results, you would find that the density of water is the
same regardless of the original amount present.

The calculation of density from the two measurements is discussed in the following
two examples. Usually, the volume of an unknown sample is often measured by the
displacement of water. When a substance is added to water it will either sink or float
depending on its density. (Assuming that it doesn’t dissolve in or react with water.) If the
unknown is less dense than water, it will float and it is said to be buoyant in water. If it is
denser, it sinks. In the example that follows, the unknown sinks, so we can conclude that it is
denser than water and we can measure its volume by the volume of water that is displaced.

T
able 1. Density values of some materials

Density, the ratio of mass/volume, has many applications in the chemical industry.
The relationship between mass and volume is an important aspect of the characterization and
specification of both solids and liquids. For example, valuable metals and gem stones are
characterized by their densities. Bulk chemicals are shipped in drums and totes weighing
hundreds of pounds. Conversion of pounds to gallons or into metric equivalents is a critical
aspect of trade. Shipping costs are most often determined by weight.

Density can be used to quantify the dissolved solids in liquids. For example, high
concentrations of salt in brines increase the density of these solutions. MingLi = = /V ,
ℎM M = nn i = M.

The most common laboratory units for density are g/cm3 (g/mL), while industrially, a
variety of different units are encountered: lb/gal, lb/ft3 , and lb/in3 .

Density of Solids

Measurement of the density of an unknown solid is relatively easy. Determine both the mass
and the volume of a substance, then divide the mass by the volume to calculate its density.

Specific Gravity

On the other hand, specific gravity is the density of a substance divided by the density
of water. The density units cancel, leaving specific gravity a unitless number. Since we often
assume the density of pure water to be 1.0 g/mL, the specific gravity usually agrees closely
with density. Temperature changes affect the density of water, resulting in differences
between density and specific gravity of the material being tested.

aMegige gLi = MingLi i n a M / MingLi i LM

Archimedes (ca. 287-212 BC) was a Greek mathematician who is credited with first
discovering and characterizing the mass-to-volume relationship of materials. The king Hiero
supposedly challenged Archimedes to find out if his goldsmith had replaced some of the
king’s gold with silver when making a wreath-like crown. But, of course, the king will not
allow Archimedes to ruin the crown by cutting into it. While struggling with this, he notices
that as he gets into a bathtub, the water rises up (overflows) by a volume equal to his own
body’s volume. Realizing he has found a way to measure the volume of irregular objects such
as the crown, he jumps from the tub and runs through the streets screaming “Eureka!
Eureka!” (“I’ve found it!” I’ve found it.”)
 Knowing the mass and the volume allows the calculation of density. For water, there
is 1 g of water for every 1 ml of water, hence, its density is 1g/mL. Other materials, have
different vaules . So, in the case of water, the mass of the water displaced is essentially also
the volume of water displaced (assuming 1 mL of pure water has a mass of 1 gram.)

Pycnometer Measurement of Specific Gravity

A pycnometer is a simple container used to compare the densities of liquids. A simple

pycnometer could be a graduated cylinder or volumetric flask. However, most often it is a
carefully designed container than can be easily filled with an exact, fixed volume of liquid. A
few of the most common designs are shown below

Figure 1. Examples of available pycnometers

Pycnometers are calibrated by filling completely with pure water and weighing the
net mass of water. The density of water is then used to calculate the exact volume of the
pycnometer. After cleaning and drying, an unknown liquid is added to the pycnometer and
weighed. The net mass is then used to calculate the density of the unknown liquid:

There is a noticeable difference between density and specific gravity, even though
both are used to represent mass and are used to compare different substances. Density is the
property of matter represented by a ratio of mass to a unit volume of matter. Specific
gravity which is also called as relative density is a measure of density with respect to a
density of pure water. There are many properties of water, such as conductivity of water and
many more Mathematic is represented as:
specific gravity substance = ρsubstance / ρreference
Difference Between Density and Specific Gravity

Density Specific Gravity (Relative Density)

It is the mass of an object per unit Relative density is the ratio of a

volume substance’s weight to the weight of the
same volume of water.

To calculate density, we need to know We can get this by dividing the density of
the weight and volume of the a substance with the density of water.
substance.

It is represented in absolute term It is represented in relative term

Its symbol is ρ is represented in It does not have a SI unit

kilogram per cubic meter

It is used in many domestic and It is used in industries to measure the

commercial applications concentration of solutions.
Sample Computations

Example 1 Identifying a Substance from Density

A person was interested in purchasing a ring of pure gold having a mass of 89.9 g. Being
wise, she wished to confirm that it was actually gold before she paid for it. With a quick test
using a graduated cylinder like that shown in the previous example, she found that the ring
had a volume of 7.96 mL. Was it made of gold?

PROCEDURE

By calculating the density of the ring, we can provide evidence as to its identity. Density is a
constant and unchanging property of a pure element or compound (at a specific temperature).
From the volume and the mass, the density can be calculated by dividing the mass by the
volume. Compare this value to that of gold in Table 3-1.

SOLUTION

density of the ring = 89.9 g , 7.96 mL = 11.3 g/mL

A N A LY S I S
Is the ring pure gold? Should she buy it? Comparing the result to the values in Table 3-1, we
see that it’s not pure gold.
Pure gold would have a density of 19.3 g/Ml

Example 2 Determining the Mass from the Volume Using Density

What is the volume in milliliters occupied by 485 g of table salt?

PROCEDURE
Use the density of table salt as a conversion factor from mass to volume.

1. The unit map for the conversion is

g → mL
2. The density of table salt is given in Table 3-1 as 2.16 g/mL. We need to invert this
relationship so that g is in the denominator and mL is in the numerator. This factor then
converts mass to the equivalent volume. The factor for this conversion is
1 mL
2.16 g

S O LU TI O N
485 g x 1 mL = 2.25 mL
2.16 g

A N A LYS I S

To check your answer, you can plug it back into the density formula.
density = mass ÷ volume
density = 485 g ÷ 225 mL = 2.16 g/ml

This is the original reported density. The answer checks out.

As shown below, the mass is obtained by placing the substance on an electronic balance,
while the volume is measured from the volume differences of the water.
ANALYSIS

The problem stated that the sample was a pure substance. With the information given to you
in Table1, can you determine the substance? (Yes. Table 1 indicates that aluminum has a
density of 2.70 g/mL. Therefore, the sample is most likely aluminum.)

Specific Gravity

In place of density, certain applications, especially in the medical field, use the term
specific gravity. Specific gravity is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the mass of an
equal volume of water under the same conditions. Since the mass of water is 1.00 g/mL,
specific gravity has the same value as density, only expressed without units. For example, the
density of aluminum is 2.70 g/mL, so its specific gravity is simply 2.70.

Sources:

//jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry7.html
https://byjus.com/physics/difference-between-density-and-specific-gravity/
http://faculty.weber.edu/ewalker/Chem2990/Chem%202990%20Specific%20Gravity%20Rea
dings%20Rev2%20.pdf

Exercises

Solve the following:

1. A handful of sand has a mass of 208 g and displaces a volume of 80.0 mL. What is its
density?
2. A 125-g quantity of iron has a volume of 15.8 mL. What is its density?
3. A given liquid has a volume of 0.657 L and a mass of 1064 g. What might the liquid be?
(Refer to Table -1.)
4. A 25.0-g quantity of magnesium has a volume of 14.4 mL. What is its density? What is the
volume of 1.00 kg of magnesium?
5. What is the mass of 1 gal of carbon tetrachloride in grams? In pounds?