Density Calculator (mass / volume)
Pick the variable you want (density, mass or volume), enter the other two and the missing value pops out immediately. Mass supports mg, g, kg, t, oz and lb; volume covers mL, L, cm³, m³, in³, ft³, US and UK gallons; density supports kg/m³, g/cm³ (= g/mL), kg/L, lb/ft³, lb/gal and oz/in³. Internally everything is normalised to SI base units (kg, m³, kg/m³) so mixed-unit inputs just work, and a reference table of 19 common substances (CRC Handbook data) plus a nearest-match hint helps you sanity-check the answer.
Enter valid positive numbers and pick units for the two given fields.
Density
—
Result
Mass
—
Given
Volume
—
Given
Formula
ρ = m ÷ V · m = ρ × V · V = m ÷ ρ
—
Common substance densities (~20 °C, 1 atm)
- Air 0.001 g/cm³
- Ice 0.92 g/cm³
- Water (pure) 1.00 g/cm³
- Seawater 1.02 g/cm³
- Ethanol 0.79 g/cm³
- Olive oil 0.92 g/cm³
- Milk 1.03 g/cm³
- Honey 1.42 g/cm³
- Wood (oak) 0.75 g/cm³
- Concrete 2.40 g/cm³
- Aluminium 2.70 g/cm³
- Glass 2.50 g/cm³
- Steel 7.85 g/cm³
- Iron 7.87 g/cm³
- Copper 8.96 g/cm³
- Silver 10.49 g/cm³
- Lead 11.34 g/cm³
- Mercury 13.53 g/cm³
- Gold 19.32 g/cm³
Source: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (97th ed.); US Standard Atmosphere 1976 for air.
Formula
ρ = m ÷ V // density from mass and volume m = ρ × V // mass from density and volume V = m ÷ ρ // volume from density and mass Exact unit conversions (NIST SP 811): 1 lb (avoirdupois) = 0.45359237 kg 1 oz = 1/16 lb ≈ 0.028349523 kg 1 in³ = (0.0254)³ m³ = 1.6387064×10⁻⁵ m³ 1 ft³ = (0.3048)³ m³ ≈ 0.028316847 m³ 1 US gal = 231 in³ ≈ 3.785411784×10⁻³ m³ 1 UK gal = 4.54609 L (exact) 1 g/cm³ = 1 g/mL = 1000 kg/m³ 1 lb/ft³ ≈ 16.0185 kg/m³
- · Density is temperature- and pressure-dependent: water peaks at ~1000 kg/m³ near 4 °C and drops to 998.2 kg/m³ at 20 °C. The tool and the reference table use typical values at ~20 °C and 1 atm.
- · Specific gravity (SG) = substance density ÷ water density. Mercury SG ≈ 13.5; olive oil SG ≈ 0.92. Industries like battery testing, winemaking and brewing typically work in SG rather than absolute density.
- · Mass vs. weight: this tool works in mass (kg, lb are mass units). Multiply by g ≈ 9.81 m/s² to get weight in newtons on Earth.
- · A US (liquid) gallon = 3.7854 L; a UK imperial gallon = 4.5461 L — nearly 20% apart. Picking the wrong one is the most common error in recipe / fuel-economy conversions.
- · Ice (~917 kg/m³) is less dense than water (1000 kg/m³), so it floats — about 90% of its volume sits below the surface. A classic Archimedes-principle example.
- · The URL is updated on every change so you can bookmark or share the exact scenario — values and units are encoded in the query string.
- · Sources: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (97th ed., 2016–17); NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI); US Standard Atmosphere 1976 for air.
Frequently asked
Why isn't my measured water density exactly 1.000 g/cm³ in the lab?
Because water density is temperature-dependent. The peak (~0.9999 g/cm³, or 999.972 kg/m³) is at 4 °C; at 20 °C it is 0.9982 g/cm³; at 100 °C boiling water is 0.958 g/cm³. If your measurements are precise to the third decimal place, record the temperature and apply the standard correction.
What is the difference between density and specific gravity?
Density ρ has units (kg/m³, g/cm³, etc.). Specific gravity (SG) is a dimensionless ratio of the sample density to water (usually 1000 kg/m³ at 4 °C). A wine with SG 1.05 has a density of 1050 kg/m³ or 1.05 g/cm³. This tool reports density; divide by 1000 (kg/m³) or by 1 (g/cm³) to get SG.
US gallons and UK gallons are very different — is that why fuel-economy conversions trip people up?
Yes — 1 US gallon = 3.7854 L vs. 1 UK gallon = 4.5461 L, a ~20% difference. So 30 mpg in the US is ~12.75 km/L, while the same figure quoted in the UK is ~10.62 km/L. When picking lb/gal in this tool, be careful whether you want US or UK.
Can I use this for HKDSE Physics / Chemistry density questions?
Yes. Secondary-school density problems are direct applications of ρ = m / V, which this tool solves in either direction using textbook-friendly units like mL and cm³. In the exam, remember to convert the answer back to whatever units the question asks for (usually g/cm³ or kg/m³).
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