Density
This article is about mass density. For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). Density Common symbols ρ D SI unit kg/m 3 A graduated cylinder containing various coloured liquids with different densities The density , or more precisely, the volumetric mass density , of a substance is its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter D can also be used. Mathematically, density is defined as mass divided by volume: [1] ρ =mV{displaystyle rho ={frac {m}{V}}} where ρ is the density, m is the mass, and V is the volume. In some cases (for instance, in the United States oil and gas industry), density is loosely defined as its weight per unit volume, [2] although this is scientifically inaccurate – this quantity is more specifically called specific weight. For a pure substance the density has the same numerical value as its mass concentration. Different materials usually have ...