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Mass and volume are two properties of matter that are closely linked to each other. Both are extensive properties that depend on the size or extent of a system; both are scalar quantities in the sense that they have magnitude, but not direction and meaning, and both are in everyday use both in our daily life and in any laboratory. However, these are two very different ways of measuring the size of an object.
The differences between mass and volume can be understood based on their concepts and some of their characteristics as units of measurement. Next, we will see the main differences between mass and volume based on different comparison criteria:
Difference 1: Mass and volume are different concepts.
mass definition
Mass is a property of matter that measures the amount of it that is contained in a body or object.
volume definition
Volume is a measure of the amount of three-dimensional space occupied by a body or object.
Difference 2: They are different types of magnitudes.
Mass is a physical magnitude that has to do, from the microscopic point of view, with the number of atoms and molecules contained in a system, regardless of their absolute or relative positions within said system.
Instead, volume is a geometric quantity and is a more abstract concept than mass. It is related to the concept of space (in the sense of “amount of available space”), which we understand as the number of three-dimensional cubic boxes of specific geometric dimensions that would fit in the place of space occupied by a body or object if it were not was there.
Difference 3: They are represented by different symbols.
Mass is represented by the letter m (lower case), while volume is represented by the letter V (upper case).
Difference 4: They are expressed in different types of units.
While mass is a fundamental physical quantity that is measured in fundamental units such as kilograms (kg), pounds (lb), and grams (g), among others, volume is a quantity derived from length. In fact, the volume is the expression of the extension in three dimensions, and therefore, it is expressed in units of length raised to the third power, such as m 3 , cm 3 , dm 3 , etc.
Volume is often associated with units of capacity with all its multiples and submultiples, such as the liter (L), the mL (mL), the microliters (μL), etc., but that does not mean it ceases to be a magnitude. derivative.
Difference 5: Mass is conserved with changes of state, volume is not.
Mass is completely independent of the state of a system. If we have 5 g of water in a solid state (ice) at –50 °C and we melt it, we will continue to have the same 5 g of water, only in a liquid state. Even if we bring it to the gaseous state, we will also still have the same 5 g.
On the other hand, even if chemical reactions occur in a system that has a certain mass that modify or alter the nature of the substances it contains, the total mass of the system will remain constant. This is all because mass is a conserved quantity in most physical and chemical processes.
On the other hand, volume is a property that depends on the balance between the attractive and repulsive forces of the particles that make up a system, and on the thermal agitation of said particles. For this reason, the volume varies as a function of temperature, pressure, and the chemical composition or the chemical nature of the substances that make up a system.
For example, if we have the same 5 grams of water that we had before in a liquid state at 4 °C and 1 atm of pressure, it will occupy a volume of 5 cm 3 . On the other hand, if we evaporate these 5 grams of water and turn them into a gaseous state at 100°C and the same pressure, those same 5 g of water will now occupy around 8,500 cm 3 , a volume 1,700 times greater than the initial one.
On the other hand, if we decompose the 5 g of water and convert them into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen under the same conditions of temperature and pressure (4 °C and 1 atm), these two gases will occupy a volume of almost 9,500 cm 3 .
The relationship between mass and volume
Despite the differences between mass and volume, these two extensive properties can be combined with each other to obtain two different intensive properties. These are the density and the specific volume .
Density
Density is the relationship between mass and volume. It represents the mass of a fixed volume of a substance and is calculated by means of the following equation:
specific volume
It is the reciprocal of density so it corresponds to the relationship between the volume and the mass of a system. In this sense, it represents the volume of a fixed and determined mass of a substance, and is calculated by means of the following equation:
Density and specific volume are related to each other by the following equation:
Summary of the differences between mass and volume
| Criterion | Mass | Volume |
| Concept | A measure of the amount of matter in a body or object. | A measure of the amount of space that a body or object occupies, or a measure of its three-dimensional extension. |
| Symbol | m | V |
| magnitude type | Physical magnitude. | geometric magnitude |
| units | It is measured in fundamental units including: kg, g, lb, Oz, etc. | It is measured in derived units, in particular in units of length cubed: m 3 , cm 3 , mm 3 , ft 3 , etc. |
| Conservation | It is preserved, regardless of the state of a system. | Varies depending on the state of the system. |
References
Ask Any Difference. (nd). Difference Between Mass and Volume (With Table) . https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-mass-and-volume-with-table/
BYJUS. (2021, March 22). General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) Guidelines BYJU’S . https://byjus.com/physics/difference-between-mass-and-volume/
Differentiator. (2021, June 2). Difference between mass, volume, density, energy and work . https://www.diferenciador.com/masa-volumen-densidad-energia-y-trabajo/
Differences.cc. (2020, February 19). Mass is a term used in the different branches of the . https://www.diferencias.cc/masa-volumen/
Floyd, C. (2021, September 3). Difference between mass and volume . Examples. https://examples.net/difference-between-mass-and-volume/
