Science, Tech, Math › Science Density of Common Substances Share Flipboard Email Print Find out the density of common substances, including ice. Erik Dreyer / Getty Images Science Physics Physics Laws, Concepts, and Principles Quantum Physics Important Physicists Thermodynamics Cosmology & Astrophysics Chemistry Biology Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Andrew Zimmerman Jones Math and Physics Expert M.S., Mathematics Education, Indiana University B.A., Physics, Wabash College Andrew Zimmerman Jones is a science writer, educator, and researcher. He is the co-author of "String Theory for Dummies." our editorial process Andrew Zimmerman Jones Updated February 07, 2019 The table below shows the density of some common substances, in units of kilograms per cubic meter. Some of these values may certainly seem counter-intuitive—one would not expect mercury (which is a liquid) to be more dense than iron, for example. Notice that ice has a lower density than either water (freshwater) or seawater (saltwater), so it will float in them. Seawater, however, has a higher density than freshwater, which means that the seawater will sink when it comes in contact with freshwater. This behavior causes many significant ocean currents and the concern of glacier melting is that it will alter the flow of seawater—all from the basic functioning of density. To convert the density to grams per cubic centimeter, merely divide the values in the table by 1,000. Density of Common Substances Material Density (kg/m3) Air (1 atm, 20 degrees C 1.20 Aluminum 2,700 Benzene 900 Blood 1,600 Brass 8,600 Concrete 2,000 Copper 8,900 Ethanol 810 Glycerin 1,260 Gold 19,300 Ice 920 Iron 7,800 Lead 11,300 Mercury 13,600 Neutron star 10 18 Platinum 21,400 Seawater (Saltwater) 1,030 Silver 10,500 Steel 7,800 Water (Freshwater) 1,000 White dwarf star 10 10 Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. "Density of Common Substances." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/density-of-common-substances-2698949. Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. (2020, August 27). Density of Common Substances. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/density-of-common-substances-2698949 Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. "Density of Common Substances." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/density-of-common-substances-2698949 (accessed April 21, 2021). copy citation