Density and weight are physical properties of matter
Both properties are related to mass
In addition, these properties are very useful in physics and engineering when describing objects
1 Overview and Key Difference
4 Side by Side Comparison – Density vs Weight in Tabular Form
Density is a physical property of matter that is a measure of the amount of matter available in a unit volume
Density is the ratio of mass to volume and therefore has the physical dimensions of ML-3
The unit of measurement for density is often kilograms per cubic meter (kgm-3) or grams per milliliter (g/ml)
When a solid object is placed in a liquid, it will float if the solid has a lower density than the liquid
This is the reason ice floats on water
If two liquids (which are immiscible) of different density are put together, the liquid with lower density floats on top of the liquid with higher density
Image 01: Ice floating on water
In some special applications, density can be defined as weight/volume
It is called specific gravity and in this case the unit is Newton per cubic meter
Weight is the force acting on an object due to the gravitational field
It is directly related to mass and can be given as the product of mass and the gravitational field
Weight has the same dimensions as force (MLT-2), and the units of measurement are newtons or kilograms of weight (kgwt)
Since weight is related to the gravitational field, we can measure different weights in different places
For example, the weight of an object on the moon is one-sixth of its weight on earth
In addition, weight can also vary in different places on earth due to fluctuations in gravity
However, weight is sometimes treated as a constant property
If the place is the same, the weight is proportional to the mass, which is a measure of the amount of matter included in the object
Weight is an extensive physical property because it increases as the size of an object increases
What is the difference between density and weight?
Furthermore, density is an intensive physical property while weight is an extensive property
For units of measurement, weight is measured in Newtons, and density is measured in kilograms per cubic meter
Furthermore, weight is directly related to gravity, while density has no relationship to the gravitational field
Summary – Density vs Weight
Density is a physical property of matter that is a measure of the amount of matter available in a unit volume, while weight is the force acting on an object due to the gravitational field
Density is a physical property of matter that is a measure of the amount of matter available in a unit volume, while weight is the force acting on an object due to the gravitational field
The key difference between density and weight is that weight is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, whereas density measures the amount of matter per unit volume
The key difference between density and weight is that weight is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, whereas density measures the amount of matter per unit volume
The key difference between density and weight is that weight is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, whereas density measures the amount of matter per unit volume
“What’s the Difference Between Weight and Mass” ThoughtCo, 21 Mar 2019, Available here
The difference between density and specific gravity
Difference between center of gravity and center of mass