A droplet of pure mercury has a density of 13.6 g/cm3 . What is the density of a sample of pure

Question

A droplet of pure mercury has a density of 13.6 g/cm3 . What is the density of a sample of pure mercury that is 10 times as large as the droplet?

Answer 1

Properties that change with the amount of a substance are called Extensive Properties.  Mass and Volume are both Extensive Properties because the more stuff you have, the greater the mass and the greater the space it will occupy.

 

Properties that do not depend on the amount of a substance are called Intensive Properties. Density is an Intensive Property. Remember - Density is the mass per unit of volume. If you make the droplet 10 times larger in volume, then it will also be 10 times the mass! Therefore the ratio of mass to volume will stay the same.

Answer 2

Volume does not change the density of a material. Only changing the state (solid/liquid/gas) will change the density.

Density is often used as a conversion factor. For instance, if you increase the volume 10x cm³ the mass will also increase 10x g. So, the density will be the same for both droplets.