Enter the densities and volumes of up to 5 different substances into the calculator to determine the average density of the mixture.

Average Density Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the average density of a collection of objects.

D  = D1*V1 + D2*V2 +DX*VX / (V1+V2+VX)
  • Where D is the average density of the mixture
  • D1,D2,DX are the densities of the individual substances
  • V1,V2,VX are the volumes of each substance in the mixture.

Average Density Definition

An average density is defined as the total mass per unit of volume of a mixture of 2 or more substances. In the case of the formula above, this is for a mixture with different quantities of each compound.

Example Problem

How to calculate the average density of a mixture?

  1. First, determine the densities of each compound.

    For this example, there are 3 compounds with densities of 10g/L, 5g/L, and 2g/L respectively.

  2. Next, determine the volumes of each substance

    In this problem, the volumes are measured to be 2L, 5L, and 1L respectively.

  3. Finally, calculate the average density of the mixture.

    Using the formula above, the average density is calculated as (10*2+5*5+2*1) / (2+5+1) = 5.875 g/L.

FAQ

How do you calculate an average density of a mixture?

Calculating the average density of a mixture is done by multiplying the densities of each compound by the volume of the respective compound, then dividing the result by the sum of all of the volumes.

What is the SI unit of density?

The SI units for density are g/cm^3. In this case, 1 centimeter cubed (cm^3) is equal to one milliliter (mL), so they can be used interchangeably.