Density Calculator
Calculate density from mass and volume in any units, or solve for mass or volume — results in kg/m³, g/cm³ and lb/ft³ with a reference table of common materials.
Density Calculator: with the default inputs, density (kg/m³) is 1,000.
Not used when solving for mass.
1 L = 1,000 cm³ = 0.001 m³. Not used when solving for volume.
1 g/cm³ = 1,000 kg/m³. Used when solving for mass or volume.
- Density (g/cm³ = g/mL = kg/L)
- 1Numerically equal to specific gravity relative to water at 4 °C.
- Density (lb/ft³)
- 62.428
- Mass
- 1 kg
- Volume
- 1 L
- In fresh water
- Neutrally buoyant
Assumptions
- Homogeneous material — one density throughout.
- Volume is the object's true volume, not a bounding box.
- Buoyancy is judged against fresh water at 1,000 kg/m³.
| Material | kg/m³ | g/cm³ | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air (sea level, 15 °C) | 1.225 | 0.0012 | US Standard Atmosphere |
| Cork | 240 | 0.24 | typical |
| Wood, oak | 700 | 0.7 | dry, typical 600–900 |
| Ethanol | 789 | 0.789 | 20 °C |
| Ice | 917 | 0.917 | 0 °C |
| Water | 1,000 | 1 | 4 °C (999.97) |
| Seawater | 1,025 | 1.025 | surface, typical |
| Concrete | 2,400 | 2.4 | typical 2,200–2,500 |
| Glass | 2,500 | 2.5 | soda-lime |
| Aluminum | 2,700 | 2.7 | |
| Steel | 7,850 | 7.85 | carbon steel |
| Copper | 8,960 | 8.96 | |
| Lead | 11,340 | 11.34 | |
| Mercury | 13,534 | 13.534 | 20 °C |
| Gold | 19,300 | 19.3 | 19,320 |
| Osmium | 22,590 | 22.59 | densest element |
Sources: HyperPhysics density tables; air from the US Standard Atmosphere (NASA). Real samples vary with alloy, porosity and temperature.
How this is worked out
The formula
ρ = m ÷ V ρ = density (kg/m³) m = mass (kg) V = volume (m³) 1 g/cm³ = 1 g/mL = 1 kg/L = 1,000 kg/m³ 1 kg/m³ = 0.06243 lb/ft³
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Solve for
- Choose one of 3 options.Density — from mass & volume · Mass — from density & volume · Volume — from density & mass
- Mass
- Not used when solving for mass.in kg · 0 or more · defaults to 1
- Volume
- 1 L = 1,000 cm³ = 0.001 m³. Not used when solving for volume.in L · 0 or more · defaults to 1
- Density
- 1 g/cm³ = 1,000 kg/m³. Used when solving for mass or volume.0 or more · defaults to 1000
What you get back
- Density (kg/m³)main answer
- Density (g/cm³ = g/mL = kg/L)
- Numerically equal to specific gravity relative to water at 4 °C.
- Density (lb/ft³)
- Mass
- Volume
- In fresh water
What this assumes
- Homogeneous material — one density throughout.
- Volume is the object's true volume, not a bounding box.
- Buoyancy is judged against fresh water at 1,000 kg/m³.
About this calculator
Density is how much mass is packed into a given volume: ρ = m/V. It is what makes a liter of mercury (13.5 kg) so startlingly heavy and a liter of air (1.2 g) so light, and it is the property you test when you check whether a ring is really gold. Enter mass and volume in whatever units you have — grams and milliliters, pounds and gallons — and get the density in kg/m³, g/cm³ and lb/ft³. Switch Solve for to find the mass of a known volume of material, or the volume a given mass occupies.
Reading the numbers
- kg/m³ is the SI unit. Water is 1,000, air is about 1.2, steel about 7,850.
- g/cm³ (identical to g/mL and kg/L) is what chemistry classes use. Water is 1.00, which is why this number also serves as specific gravity.
- Anything below 1,000 kg/m³ floats in fresh water; the fraction submerged equals its density ratio, so ice (917) floats with about 92% under the surface.
Common mistakes
- Mixing unit systems: grams with liters gives g/L, which is 1,000× smaller than g/mL. The calculator converts everything to SI first, and the steps show that conversion.
- Reading a weight as a mass. On Earth the numbers match closely in kg, but a spring scale reading in newtons must be divided by g = 9.807 m/s² first.
- Forgetting that density changes with temperature. Water is densest at 4 °C; warm it to 90 °C and it drops to 965 kg/m³. Gases change even more, and with pressure too.
Archimedes' trick
To find the volume of an irregular object, submerge it and measure the water it displaces. A 100 g "gold" pendant that displaces 9.7 mL comes out at 10.3 g/cm³ — brass, not gold (19.3). The reference table under the results makes that comparison quick.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the formula for density?
Density = mass ÷ volume (ρ = m/V). Rearranged: m = ρV to find mass and V = m/ρ to find volume.
▸How do I convert g/cm³ to kg/m³?
Multiply by 1,000. 1 g/cm³ = 1,000 kg/m³ because there are 1,000 g in a kg and 1,000,000 cm³ in a m³.
▸What is the density of water?
1,000 kg/m³ (1.000 g/cm³) at 4 °C, where it is densest. At 20 °C it is 998 kg/m³, and seawater is about 1,025 kg/m³ because of dissolved salt.
▸Is specific gravity the same as density?
Specific gravity is density divided by the density of water, so it is a unitless ratio. Numerically it equals density in g/cm³ — gold's specific gravity is 19.3.
▸Why does ice float?
Water expands when it freezes into its open hexagonal crystal, so ice is about 8% less dense (917 kg/m³) than liquid water and floats with roughly 92% of its volume submerged.
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