Density calculation: If a sample has mass 250 g and volume 100 cm^3, what is its density?

Density calculation: If a sample has mass 250 g and volume 100 cm^3, what is its density?

• A. 2.5 g/cm^3
• B. 0.25 g/cm^3
• C. 25 g/cm^3
• D. 250 g/cm^3

Answer: (A)

Density tells you how much mass is packed into a given volume, so you divide mass by volume. Here, 250 g divided by 100 cm^3 gives 2.5 g per cubic centimeter. That means about 2.5 grams reside in each cubic centimeter of the sample. The other numbers would come from dividing by different volumes (for example, a larger volume would yield a smaller density like 0.25 g/cm^3, and a smaller volume would yield a larger density like 25 or 250 g/cm^3), but with the provided measurements the density is 2.5 g/cm^3.

Density tells you how much mass is packed into a given volume, so you divide mass by volume. Here, 250 g divided by 100 cm^3 gives 2.5 g per cubic centimeter. That means about 2.5 grams reside in each cubic centimeter of the sample. The other numbers would come from dividing by different volumes (for example, a larger volume would yield a smaller density like 0.25 g/cm^3, and a smaller volume would yield a larger density like 25 or 250 g/cm^3), but with the provided measurements the density is 2.5 g/cm^3.