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Density

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8 views

Density

Uploaded by

nkotsibahlakoana3
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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DENSITY

 The density of an object is its mass divided by its volume.


 The units of density depend on the units for mass and volume. The most commonly
used units are grams per cubic centimetre (g/cm3) or kilograms per cubic metre (kg/m3)
 The density of a substance depends both on the mass of particles, and how closely
packed they are. This means that density changes when substances change state, and
when they are heated or cooled.

Densities of the States


Different substances have different densities

Material Helium Air Wood Water Concrete Aluminium osmium


Density 0.00018 0.0012 0.35- 1.0 2.4 2.7 22
in g/cm3 0.95

Solid tend to have the highest densities when compared to liquids and gases. If we take solid
steel with a density of 7.82 g/cm3 and compare it with the density of air which is 0.0012 g/cm3,
air (gas) has the lowest density and the density of water is in between.
Solids have the highest densities because the particles are closely packed together. Gases have
the lowest densities because the particles are further apart or widely spaced.

The particles in liquids are close together. Although they are randomly packed, they are still
tightly packed, giving liquids a higher density than gases. The density of a substance as a liquid
is usually less than its density as a solid. For example:

 The density of solid aluminium is 2.72 g/cm3


 The density of liquid aluminium is 2.38 g/cm3
This means that liquid aluminium will float on top of solid aluminium.
Water is different from most
substances. It is less dense as a solid
than as a liquid, because its particles
move apart slightly when it freezes.
This is why ice cubes and icebergs
float on liquid water.

N.B. Some liquids have a higher density than solids. This explains why wood can float on top of
water.

Expanding
As an object or substance gets hotter, its particles vibrate more. The increase in vibration
means they push each other away - the more vibration there is, the bigger the distance
between the particles.
When an object expands, it does not gain any particles. Its mass remains the same. What
increases is the volume. When the volume increases, the density of the object or substance
decreases. In other words, the object or substance has the same mass in a bigger volume. That
explains why a hot air balloon can float because the hot air inside the balloon is less dense
than the colder air outside.
REFERENCES
Densities of solids, liquids and gases - BBC Bitesize (no date). Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zkr4jxs/articles/zqpkkty (Accessed: April 13, 2023).
MICHAEL., J. O. N. E. S. M. A. R. Y. F. E. L. L. O. W. E. S.-F. R. E. E. M. A. N. D. I. A. N. E. S. M. Y. T.
H. (2021). Cambridge lower Secondary Science Learner's Book 9 with Digital Access (1 year).
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS.

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