Supplemental Notes:

Density and Specific Gravity

CONCEPTS

I. Density
➢ Mass per unit volume of a substance
➢ SI unit of density is kg/m3—but since this is a very large value, most solids and liquids
have densities expressed in g/cc or g/cm3 or g/mL
➢ Density can be used as a conversion factor for switching between mass and volume.
➢ Practical Application:
1. Submarine
2. Hot air balloon (Helium)
3. Logs floating in water
4. Lava lamp

II. Specific Gravity

➢ It is a property of fluids related to density and viscosity.
➢ It is a ratio expressed decimally of the weight of the given substance to the weight of an
equal volume of water
➢ Water and Hydrogen are the standards for liquids and gases, respectively
➢ It is a constant value for all substance (under measured controlled conditions).
➢ Remember:
Sp Gr <1: lighter than water
Sp Gr >1: heavier than water
➢ Pycnometer and Plummet Method→ 2 laboratory applications to calculate specific
gravity

III. Specific Volume

➢ Inverse of density
➢ Quantifies the amount of space that a certain mass of material occupies
➢ SI Unit: cm3/kg
➢ Application:
✓ Thermodynamics
✓ Engineering

FORMULAS
mass
1. 𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (unit: g/mL or g/cc)
volume

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
2. 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = (unit: None)
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑚
3. Milliliter =
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦

4. Grams = Milliliter x Specific Gravity

 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒
5. 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 =
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠

COMPUTATIONS
1. A specific gravity bottle weighs 23.66g. when filled with water, it weighs 72.95g; when
filled with Liquid A, it weighs 73.56g. what is the specific gravity of the liquid?
1.1. Given:
Weight of empty pycnometer: 23.66 g
Weight of pycnometer + water: 72.95 g
Weight of pycnometer + Liquid A: 73.56 g

1.2. Unknown
Specific gravity of Liquid A

1.3. Solution
1.3.a. Compute for the equivalent weight of water: 72.95 g – 23.66 g = 49.29 g
1.3.b. Compute for the weight of Liquid A: 73.56 g – 23.66 g = 49.9 g
1.3.c. Compute for specific gravity of Liquid A
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 49.9
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 49.29 = ________

2. What is the volume, in mL, of 492g of nitric acid with a specific gravity of 1.40?

3. What is the volume, in mL, of 1lb of methyl salicylate with a specific gravity of 1.185?

4. What is the weight, in grams, of 3,620mL of alcohol with a sp gr of 0.820? (Ans: 2,968 g)

5. A piece of copper metal weighs 53.6 g and has a volume of 6 mL. Calculate its density.

6. If a liter of a cough syrup weighs 1,285 g, what is its sp gr?

7. If 380 g of cottonseed oil measures 415 mL, what is its specific gravity?

8. If 2 fl.oz of glycerol weighs 74.1g, what is its sp gr?

9. If chloroform has a sp gr of 1.476, what is its specific volume?

10. A glass plummet weighs 14.35 g in air, 11.4g when immersed in water, and 8.95 g when
immersed in H2SO4. Calculate the sp gr of the acid.
10.1. Given
Weight of plummet in air = 14.35 g
Weight of plummet in water = 11.4 g
Weight of plummet in acid = 8.95 g
 10.2. Unknown: sp gr of acid
10.3. Solution
Wt of displaced water: 14.35 g – 11.4 g = _____
Wt of displaced acid: 14.35 g – 8.85 g = ______

𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = =
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

11. The formula for 1000g of PEG-400 ointment calls for 600g PEG-400. At Php 19.15 per
pint, what is the cost of PEG-400, sp gr 1.14, needed to prepare 4,000g of the ointment?
(Refer to the video lecture if this particular problem is confusing)

12. A transdermal patch for smoking cessation contains 30mg of liquid nicotine per patch. If
nicotine has sp gr of 1.01, how many mL of the agent are required to manufacture 1
million patches?
(Hint: Enlarge the formula before using formula #3)

13. How many grams of dextrose are contained in 250mL IV infusion of a dextrose injection
containing 60g of dextrose per 100mL if its sp gr is 1.20?

Reference: Pharmaceutical Calculations 13 th