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Physics vocabulary · Measurement and Units

Density

Meaning in physics, with examples

/ˈdensəti/nounCore term

In physics, density means: The mass of a material per unit volume, found by dividing mass by volume. It is measured in kilograms per cubic metre (kg/m³) or grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm³).

In Turkish: yoğunluk, özkütle

How it is used

Symbol ρ (rho). Pure water has a density of about 1000 kg/m³, which is 1 g/cm³, and objects less dense than water float. In the lab you find density by measuring mass on a balance and volume with a ruler or by displacement of water.

Example sentences

  1. Ice floats because its density is lower than that of liquid water.

  2. Find the density of the stone by dividing its mass by the volume of water it displaces.

Common collocations

  • density of water
  • high density
  • low density
  • measure the density
  • mass per unit volume
  • massThe amount of matter in an object, which also measures how hard it is to change the object's motion. It is measured in kilograms (kg) and does not depend on location.
  • pressureThe force acting on each unit of area of a surface, found by dividing force by area. It is measured in pascals (Pa), where one pascal is one newton per square metre.
  • SI unitsThe international system of measurement units used in science, based on seven base units such as the metre, kilogram, second, ampere and kelvin. SI comes from the French 'Système international'.
  • significant figuresThe digits in a number that carry real information about its precision, counted from the first non-zero digit. For example, 0.00450 has three significant figures.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Measurement and Units

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