Density Calculator
Density2.0000
Mass100.0000
Volume50.0000
Density measures how much mass is packed into a given volume, and it is what tells you whether an object floats, how heavy a block of material will be, or which of two substances is which. This calculator solves the density relationship in any direction: supply any two of density, mass, and volume, and it returns the third. Results are rounded to four decimal places, and the answer carries whatever units you put in (for example g/cm³ when mass is in grams and volume in cm³).
Formula
d = m / V (so m = d × V and V = m / d)
- d
- Density (mass per unit volume), e.g. g/cm³ or kg/m³
- m
- Mass of the substance
- V
- Volume occupied by the substance
How it works
- Enter exactly two of the three quantities — density, mass, or volume — and leave the one you want to find blank.
- The engine rearranges d = m ÷ V as needed: it computes density from mass and volume, mass from density and volume, or volume from mass and density.
- The unknown is returned rounded to four decimal places. Keep your units consistent (e.g. kg with m³, or g with cm³) so the density unit comes out correctly.
Worked example
A metal block has a mass of 200 g and occupies 50 cm³. Find its density.
- Enter mass = 200 and volume = 50, leaving density blank.
- Apply d = m ÷ V: 200 ÷ 50 = 4.
Density = 4 (in g/cm³ for these inputs), consistent with a metal such as titanium.
Frequently asked questions
- What units does the density calculator use?
- It is unit-agnostic: the output density simply equals mass divided by volume in whatever units you enter. If you put mass in grams and volume in cubic centimetres, the density is in g/cm³; kilograms and cubic metres give kg/m³.
- Can I solve for mass or volume instead of density?
- Yes. Enter any two of the three values and the calculator solves for the missing one. Provide density and volume to get mass (m = d × V), or density and mass to get volume (V = m ÷ d).
- Why must volume be greater than zero?
- Density is mass divided by volume, and dividing by a volume of zero is undefined. The engine also rejects a density of zero when you ask it to solve for volume, since that would also require dividing by zero.
- Is the result the same as specific gravity?
- Not exactly. Density is an absolute quantity with units, while specific gravity is the ratio of a substance density to water density (about 1 g/cm³). For water-based units the numbers are close, but specific gravity is dimensionless.