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Density ... 'the mass of one unit of volume of a substance' – this does not mean a lot. So what is density? Density measures how tightly a substance is packed into a certain volume. Knowing this is useful, but only if you know the proper formula, which is: 
Density is one of the most basic physics formulas, but still beginners many find it difficult to calculate. To calculate density, all you have to do is divide the mass of the object by the volume of it. You should use the proper units ... for example, kilograms and cubic metres, or grams and cubic centimetres. The answer is the density of the given object. For example: To calculate the density of a block of metal that weights 3 kg, and has a volume of 8 cubic metres, you need the following information: Mass: 3 kg Volume: 8 cubic metres Now you write the formula out once, then write it out again only filling in the numbers in place of the letters:  Now do the division:  We now know that the block of metal has a density of 0.375 kg/m3 Why Calculate Density? There are many reasons why we calculate density. One of them is when building. Huge buildings have to support a lot of weight , on small columns, so knowing how to figure out the density of a column, can help save thousands of dollars in building costs – the contractor will know the metal to use right away, and will not have to change the building over and over, until it can safely support the weight (redoing the building would cost a lot of money). This is just one of the many reasons that we need to know how to calculate density – though there are hundreds of more reasons. |