Density Calculator
Solve for density, mass or volume when you know the other two.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Uniform, non-porous material: Assumes the mass is evenly distributed through the volume with no air gaps or voids, which would otherwise skew the density lower than the material's true value.
- Reference temperature: Does not correct for thermal expansion; density figures for liquids and gases are only accurate at the temperature the mass and volume were actually measured at.
About this calculator
Determining density by hand means carefully measuring both mass and volume and then dividing, simple in principle, but volume is often the hard part, whether you're working with an oddly shaped solid, a liquid at a non-standard temperature, or trying to verify whether a metal is genuine by comparing its density to a known reference value. This calculator solves the density equation (density = mass ÷ volume) for whichever of the three quantities you don't already have: give it mass and volume to get density, or density and one of the others to back-calculate the missing value. It's useful for identifying unknown materials, checking whether an object is solid or hollow, converting between mass and volume for recipes or lab work, or verifying specific gravity against reference tables for metals, liquids, and gemstones. Working the algebra by hand is easy to get wrong when solving for volume or mass instead of density, since it requires rearranging the formula rather than a straight division.
Worked example
500g in 200cm³
Result: 2.5 g/cm³
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