Question

How can I calculate density of a solid?

Answer 1

Density is a comparison of the mass of an object and the volume of that object.

`D = (mass)/(volume) or D = m/V`

This equation can be rearranged algebraically to solve foray of the values.

`D = m/V or DV = m or V =m/D`

Let us look at two sample problems.

A rectangular prism has a mass of 42.0 grams and has dimensions of 2 cm in width, 6 cm long and 0.5 cm in height. What is the density of this object?

Volume of a rectangular prism is `l x h x w`
`6.0 cm x 0.5 cm x 2.0 cm = 6.0 cm^3`

Now the density is `(mass)/(volume)`

`D = (42 g)/(6.0 cm^3)`

`D = 7.0 g/(cm^3)`

A rectangular prism has a mass of 42.0 grams and has dimensions of 2 cm in width, 6 cm long and 0.5 cm in height. What is the density of this object?

Volume of a rectangular prism is `l x h x w`
`6.0 cm x 0.5 cm x 2.0 cm = 6.0 cm^3`

Now the density is `(mass)/(volume)`

`D = (42 g)/(6.0 cm^3)`

`D = 7.0 g/(cm^3)`

A cylinder has a mass of 33.0 grams and has a diameter of 4 cm and measure 3.0 cm in height. What is the density of the cylinder?

Volume of a cylinder is `(3.14) r^2h`
`(3.14) (2cm)^2(3.0cm) = 37.68 cm^3`

Now the density is `(mass)/(volume)`

`D = (33.0 g)/(37.68 cm^3)`

`D = 0.876 g/(cm^3)`

I hope this was helpful.
SMARTERTEACHER