How to Find Mass From Density

How to Find Mass From Density
••• phloxii/iStock/GettyImages

In most physics or chemistry classes, students learn about the terms "mass," "density" and their relationship. Mass usually refers to the amount of matter in an object, while density is the physical property of matter. By definition, density is mass per unit volume where volume is the space the object occupies. The symbol for density is the Greek letter "rho" or "ρ." Although you can easily find mass from the equation given for density, there are a few rules you need to follow to solve correctly these types of problems.

    To find mass from density, you need the equation:

    \rho = \frac{M}{V}

    The proper SI units for density are g/cubic cm (grams per cubic centimeters), alternately expressed as kg/cubic m (kilograms per cubic meters).

    Use the density equation to solve for mass "M" in terms of volume "V" and density "ρ," by multiplying both sides of the equation by volume "V." The equation then becomes:

    M=\rho V

    Practice finding the mass from density using this example. An object in the form of a cube with height, length and width equal to 1 cm has a density of 6 g/cubic cm.

    Find the volume to solve for mass (M) by knowing that the formula for the volume (V) of a cube is:

    V=L^3

    From Step 3, these are all equal to 1 so volume of the cube is 1 cubic cm.

    Substitute the values for density (ρ) from Step 3 and the value for volume (V) from Step 4 into the mass equation and multiply to get

    M=\rho V=6\times 1 = 6\text{ grams}

    The mass therfore equals 6 grams. Remember to check your units, as they need to be in the proper SI units.

    Tips

    • Be sure that the volume units match the denominator units in the density. If those units don't match, you must perform a conversion so they will match. For example, when you are given a volume in cubic meters and a density in grams per cubic centimeters, you need to convert the volume from cubic meters to cubic centimeters.

Related Articles

Difference Between Density & Mass
How to Calculate Weight Using Density & Volume
How to Calculate the Mass of a Cube
How to Convert Density to Grams
How to Convert Volume From Density
How to Calculate Surface Area From Volume
Density to Molarity Conversion
How to Calculate the Mass of a Solid
How to Calculate the Density of a Solution
How to Calculate Volume Using Density
How to Calculate Volume From Centimeters
How to Convert Mass to Density
How to Find Density
How to Figure Weight of Lead by Volume
How to Convert Cubic Feet to Lbs
How to Convert Grams to Ounces
How to Find the Volume of a Sphere in Terms of Pi
How to Find Mass in Weight
How to Convert From Moles Per Liter to Percentage

Dont Go!

We Have More Great Sciencing Articles!