Application of Weight and Volume Measurement

I. Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by a closed surface, for

example, the space that a substance (solid, liquid, gas, or plasma) or shape occupies or
contains.[1] Volume is often quantified numerically using the SI derived unit, the cubic
metre. The volume of a container is generally understood to be the capacity of the
container; i. e., the amount of fluid (gas or liquid) that the container could hold, rather
than the amount of space the container itself displaces. Three dimensional mathematical
shapes are also assigned volumes. Volumes of some simple shapes, such as regular,
straight-edged, and circular shapes can be easily calculated using arithmetic formulas.
Volumes of complicated shapes can be calculated with integral calculus if a formula
exists for the shape's boundary. One-dimensional figures (such as lines) and two-
dimensional shapes (such as squares) are assigned zero volume in the three-
dimensional space.
A. Units
Any unit of length gives a corresponding unit of volume: the volume of a cube whose
sides have the given length. For example, a cubic centimeter (cm3) is the volume of a
cube whose sides are one centimeter (1 cm) in length.

In the International System of Units (SI), the standard unit of volume is the cubic meter
(m3). The metric system also includes the liter (L) as a unit of volume, where one liter is
the volume of a 10-centimetre cube. Thus
1 litre = (10 cm)3 = 1000 cubic centimeters = 0.001 cubic meters, so
1 cubic meter = 1000 liters.
Small amounts of liquid are often measured in milliliters, where

1 milliliter = 0.001 liters = 1 cubic centimeter.

In the same way, large amounts can be measured in megaliters, where

1 million liters = 1000 cubic meters = 1 megaliter.

Various other traditional units of volume are also in use, including the cubic inch, the
cubic foot, the cubic yard, the cubic mile, the teaspoon, the tablespoon, the fluid ounce,
the fluid dram, the gill, the pint, the quart, the gallon, the minim, the barrel, the cord, the
peck, the bushel, the hogshead, the acre-foot and the board foot.

B. Volume in thermodynamics

In thermodynamics, the volume of a system is an important extensive parameter for

describing its thermodynamic state. The specific volume, an intensive property, is the
system's volume per unit of mass. Volume is a function of state and is interdependent
with other thermodynamic properties such as pressure and temperature. For example,
volume is related to the pressure and temperature of an ideal gas by the ideal gas law.

The physical volume of a system may or may not coincide with a control volume used to
analyze the system. The volume of a thermodynamic system typically refers to the
volume of the working fluid, such as, for example, the fluid within a piston. Changes to
 this volume may be made through an application of work, or may be used to produce
work. An isochoric process however operates at a constant-volume, thus no work can be
produced. Many other thermodynamic processes will result in a change in volume.
A polytropic process, in particular, causes changes to the system so that the

quantity is constant (where P is pressure, V is volume, and n is the polytropic

index, a constant). Note that for specific polytropic indexes a polytropic process will be
equivalent to a constant-property process. For instance, for very large values
of n approaching infinity, the process becomes constant-volume.
Gases are compressible, thus their volumes (and specific volumes) may be subject to
change during thermodynamic processes. Liquids, however, are nearly incompressible,
thus their volumes can be often taken as constant. In general, compressibility is defined
as the relative volume change of a fluid or solid as a response to a pressure, and may
be determined for substances in any phase. Similarly, thermal expansion is the tendency
of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature.
Many thermodynamic cycles are made up of varying processes, some which maintain a
constant volume and some which do not. A vapor-compression refrigeration cycle, for
example, follows a sequence where the refrigerant fluid transitions between the liquid
and vapor states of matter.
Typical units for volume are m³ (cubic meters), l³ (liters), and ft3 (cubic feet).

C. Specific volume
Specific volume (v) is the volume occupied by a unit of mass of a material.[1] In many cases
the specific volume is a useful quantity to determine because, as an intensive property, it can be
used to determine the complete state of a system in conjunction with another independent
intensive variable. The specific volume also allows systems to be studied without reference to
an exact operating volume, which may not be known (nor significant) at some stages of
analysis.
The specific volume of a substance is equal to the reciprocal of its mass density. Specific

volume may be expressed in

where, V is the volume, m is the mass and ƥ is the density of the

material.

For an ideal gas,

where, Ŕ is the specific gas constant, T is the temperature and P is the pressure of the
gas.

D. Gas volume
The volume of gas increases proportionally to absolute temperature and decreases inversely
proportionally to pressure, approximately according to the ideal gas law:
where:

 p is the pressure
 V is the volume
 n is the amount of substance of gas (moles)
 R is the gas constant, 8.314 J·K−1mol−1
 T is the absolute temperature
To simplify, a volume of gas may be expressed as the volume it would have in standard
conditions for temperature and pressure, which are 0 °C and 100 kPa.

E. Partial volume

The partial volume of a particular gas is the volume which the gas would have if it alone
occupied the volume, with unchanged pressure and temperature, and is useful in gas mixtures,
e.g. air, to focus on one particular gas component, e.g. oxygen.
It can be approximated both from partial pressure and molar fraction:

 VX is the partial volume of any individual gas component (X)

 Vtot is the total volume in gas mixture
 PX is the partial pressure of gas X
 Ptot is the total pressure in gas mixture
 nX is the amount of substance of a gas (X)
 ntot is the total amount of substance in gas mixture

II. Weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is related to the force acting on the object,
either due to gravity or to a reaction force that holds it in place.[1][2][3]
Some standard textbooks[4] define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on
the object. Others[5][6] define weight as a scalar quantity, the magnitude of the gravitational force.
Others[7] define it as the magnitude of the reaction force exerted on a body by mechanisms that
keep it in place: the weight is the quantity that is measured by, for example, a spring scale.
Thus, in a state of free fall, the weight would be zero. In this sense of weight, terrestrial objects
can be weightless: ignoring air resistance, the famous apple falling from the tree, on its way to
meet the ground near Isaac Newton, would be weightless.
The unit of measurement for weight is that of force, which in the International System of
Units (SI) is the newton. For example, an object with a mass of one kilogram has a weight of
about 9.8 newtons on the surface of the Earth, and about one-sixth as much on the Moon.
Although weight and mass are scientifically distinct quantities, the terms are often confused with
each other in everyday use (i.e. comparing and converting force weight in pounds to mass in
kilograms and vice versa).[8]
Further complications in elucidating the various concepts of weight have to do with the theory of
relativity according to which gravity is modelled as a consequence of
the curvature of spacetime. In the teaching community, a considerable debate has existed for
over half a century on how to define weight for their students. The current situation is that a
multiple set of concepts co-exist and find use in their various contexts.

1. Gravitational definition
The most common definition of weight found in introductory physics textbooks defines weight as
the force exerted on a body by gravity. This is often expressed in the formula W = mg,
where W is the weight, m the mass of the object, and g gravitational acceleration.
In 1901, the 3rd General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) established this as
their official definition of weight:
"The word weight denotes a quantity of the same nature[Note 1] as a force: the weight of a
body is the product of its mass and the acceleration due to gravity."
Resolution 2 of the 3rd General Conference on Weights and Measures
This resolution defines weight as a vector, since force is a vector quantity. However, some
textbooks also take weight to be a scalar by defining:
"The weight W of a body is equal to the magnitude Fg of the gravitational force on the body."
The gravitational acceleration varies from place to place. Sometimes, it is simply taken to have
a standard value of 9.80665 m/s2, which gives the standard weight.
The force whose magnitude is equal to mg newtons is also known as the m kilogram
weight (which term is abbreviated to kg-wt)

2. Operational definition
In the operational definition, the weight of an object is the force measured by the operation of
weighing it, which is the force it exerts on its support.[11] Since, W=downward force on the
body by the centre of earth, and there is no acceleration in the body. So, there exists opposite
and equal force by the support on the body. Also it is equal to the force exerted by the body on
its support because action and reaction have same numerical value and opposite direction. This
can make a considerable difference, depending on the details; for example, an object in free
fall exerts little if any force on its support, a situation that is commonly referred to
as weightlessness. However, being in free fall does not affect the weight according to the
gravitational definition. Therefore, the operational definition is sometimes refined by requiring
that the object be at rest.] However, this raises the issue of defining "at rest" (usually being at
rest with respect to the Earth is implied by using standard gravity. In the operational definition,
the weight of an object at rest on the surface of the Earth is lessened by the effect of the
centrifugal force from the Earth's rotation.
The operational definition, as usually given, does not explicitly exclude the effects of buoyancy,
which reduces the measured weight of an object when it is immersed in a fluid such as air or
water. As a result, a floating balloon or an object floating in water might be said to have zero
weight.

3. Measuring
Weight is commonly measured using one of two methods. A spring scale or hydraulic or
pneumatic scale measures local weight, the local force of gravity on the object
(strictly apparent weight force). Since the local force of gravity can vary by up to 0.5% at
different locations, spring scales will measure slightly different weights for the same object (the
same mass) at different locations. To standardize weights, scales are always calibrated to read
the weight an object would have at a nominal standard gravity of 9.80665 m/s2 (approx.
32.174 ft/s2). However, this calibration is done at the factory. When the scale is moved to
another location on Earth, the force of gravity will be different, causing a slight error. So to be
highly accurate, and legal for commerce, spring scales must be re-calibrated at the location at
which they will be used.
A balance on the other hand, compares the weight of an unknown object in one scale pan to the
weight of standard masses in the other, using a lever mechanism – a lever-balance. The
standard masses are often referred to, non-technically, as "weights". Since any variations in
gravity will act equally on the unknown and the known weights, a lever-balance will indicate the
same value at any location on Earth. Therefore, balance "weights" are usually calibrated and
marked in mass units, so the lever-balance measures mass by comparing the Earth's attraction
on the unknown object and standard masses in the scale pans. In the absence of a gravitational
field, away from planetary bodies (e.g. space), a lever-balance would not work, but on the
Moon, for example, it would give the same reading as on Earth. Some balances can be marked
in weight units, but since the weights are calibrated at the factory for standard gravity, the
balance will measure standard weight, i.e. what the object would weigh at standard gravity, not
the actual local force of gravity on the object.
If the actual force of gravity on the object is needed, this can be calculated by multiplying the
mass measured by the balance by the acceleration due to gravity – either standard gravity (for
everyday work) or the precise local gravity (for precision work). Tables of the gravitational
acceleration at different locations can be found on the web.
Gross weight is a term that is generally found in commerce or trade applications, and refers to
the total weight of a product and its packaging. Conversely, net weight refers to the weight of
the product alone, discounting the weight of its container or packaging; and tare weight is the
weight of the packaging alone.