Skip to main content

What happens to the density of a substance as it is heated?

Density is the ratio of mass to the volume of a substance. In other words, 


density = mass / volume


Since the units of mass are g or kg and those of volume are mL, L, cm^3 or m^3; the commonly used units of density are g/mL, kg/L, g/cm^3, kg/m^3, etc.


When we heat a substance, its molecules gain kinetic energy and move faster. Depending on the amount of heat provided, these molecules may also be able to overcome the intermolecular forces and thus move more freely. When this happens, the state of the substance may change from solid to liquid or liquid to gas. Since liquids occupy more volume compared to solids and gases occupy more volume as compared to liquids, heating a substance increases its volume. This is the reason we say substances expand on heating. Since the mass stays the same, the ratio of mass to the volume decreases. In other words the density of the substance decreases as it is heated.


Water is an exception: when water goes from the solid to liquid state, its density increases. 


Hope this helps. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more