How to Find the Density of a Regular Shape Cube or Box

If you know the mass-to-volume ratio, you can find the density of a cube.

Density is an important physical property of matter that quantitatively indicates how dense an object is. The density is the ratio of the mass to the volume. A cube is a three-dimensional object with all edges equal to each other. Determination of the cube density is a common assignment in math classes or a scientific project in the elementary school.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Scale
• Calculator

Instructions

1. Measure the length of the cube side using a ruler. For example, a length of 5 inches.

2. Multiply the length in inches by 2.54 to convert it to centimeters. In this example, the length is 2.54 x 5 = 12.7 centimeters.

3. Raise the length to the power of 3 to calculate the volume of the cube. In this example, the volume is 12.7^3 = 2,048.383 cubic centimeters.

4. Weigh the cube on the scale. In this example, the weight is 15 pounds.

5. Multiply the weight by 453.592 to convert it to grams. In this example, the cube weight is 15 x 453.592 = 6,803.88 grams

6. Divide the weight by the volume to find the density of the cube; in this example the density is 6,803.88 / 2,048.383 = 3.32 grams / cubic centimeter.

References

• Central Intelligence Agency; The World Factbook
• Math.com; Volume Formulas
• Elmhurst College; Virtual Chembook: What is Density?; Charles E. Ophardt; 2003