Density

Density

Density is a fundamental concept in physics, it is essentially, a measurement of how tightly matter is crammed together. The principle of density was discovered by the Greek Scientist Archimedes.

What is Density?

The density of a material shows the denseness of that material in a specific given are. This is taken as mass per unit volume of an object. We can define density of an object as its mass per unit volume. It is a unique physical property for a particular object. It is denoted by the symbol ρ.

\(Desnity(\rho )\,\,=\,\,\frac{Mass(m)}{Volume(V)}\)

The SI unit of density is kilogram per cubic meter (kg/ m³). It is also frequently represented in the CGS unit of Grams per Cubic Centimetre (g/cm³).

Generally, the density of water is taken as standard value for calculating the density of substance. If a substance is less dense then it will float on water while it will sink in case of high dense than water. The density of water is around approximately about 1 g/cm³.

Examples: Many applications of density in our daily life are in pipe design, helium balloons, ship building and weight distribution in the airplane.

Determining whether an object will float on water or not. Floating of ships and diving of substance are due to their density difference.

How to find the Density?

Problem: Calculate the density of water if it has mass of 1160 kg and volume of 1m³?

Solution: Given,

Mass (m) = 1160 kg

Volume (V) = 1m³

We know that:

\(Desnity(\rho )\,\,=\,\,\frac{Mass(m)}{Volume(V)}\,\,=\,\,\frac{1160\,kg}{1\,{{m}^{3}}}\,\,=\,\,1160\,kg/{{m}^{3}}\).