The formula for density is: Density = Mass / Volume This is done by dividing the object’s mass by its volume. So once you know the object’s volume, and the object’s mass, you can find out its density. This will measure an object’s mass, rather than its weight. If you want to be very scientific, you can use a triple beam balance. Remember, however, that scales will measure weight, not mass. Mass stays the same wherever you are: the earth, the moon, or floating in outer space!įor simple density experiments, you can use scales to measure the mass of an object. An object would weigh less on the moon than on the Earth, because there is less gravity there. Weight is a force, and is affected by gravity. However, mass is slightly different than weight. Mass is actually quite difficult to explain, and the best way to think of it (for the time being) is how heavy something is. The other thing you need to know when finding out the density of an object is its mass. However, they can still be used to find out density. If you could pick the box up easily, then your present wouldn’t be very dense (or someone could be playing a trick on you by giving you box of feathers)! Mass Scales actually measure weight, rather than mass. If the box was very heavy, your present would be very dense. You would then multiply the length by the width, then multiply this figure by the height. Volume is the amount of space that something takes up.įor example, if you’ve been given a box containing a present, then you could find the box’s volume by measuring its length, its width and its height.
You would then divide the mass of the object by its volume to find its density. In order to find out the density of an object, you need to know two other things about the object: its volume, and its mass. We’ll find out about mass and volume below. Put another way, density is the mass of an object divided by its volume. What Is The Definition Of Density?īasically, density is how compact an object is. If you had two boxes, both of the same size, and you filled one with gold and one with feathers, which box would be the heaviest?Īnswer: the box filled with gold of course! Because feathers aren’t as dense as the gold, the same volume of feathers would be much lighter. This is because the density of gold is higher than that of feathers. The 1kg bag of feathers would be much bigger than 1kg of gold. How many of these would make up 1kg?Ĭompare it to the size of 1 kg of gold. Now think how big a 1 kg bag of feathers would be. I hope you didn’t fall for it and say gold! The answer is, of course, that 1 kilogram of gold is just as heavy as 1 kilogram of feathers. Which is heaviest, 1 kilogram of gold or 1 kilogram of feathers?
Our investigation of density starts with a common trick question: The article includes a simple explanation and facts about density for kids. It will show you what density is, how it is defined and how it is measured.
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