A DAY AS A SOIL TECHNICIAN 
a soil technician in a field analyzing the soil

DENSITY, TAKING MEASUREMENTS


In this activity you will apply several technical skills you learned in Chemistry class, and some soft skills that will demonstrate your critical thinking and communication abilities.

Who you are today

You are a soil technician: you recently earned the certification and are ready for your first job. 

measure the bulk density of the soil in a construction area to determine if it is suitable to support the new building and allow soft landscaping. You will measure the bulk density of a sample from the construction site and report your findings to the building company.

  

   Learn about  CHEMISTRY AND CONSTRUCTION

Start the

Interactive Simulation

     Technical skills review

density

Density is a measurement of the quantity of matter (mass) per unit volume. Density is a physical property of matter and can be calculated using the formula:

density equal mass divided by volume

Masses are usually expressed in grams; volumes are expressed in mL for liquids, cm3 for solid samples, and L for gas. Thus, density has units of g/mL, g/cm3, or g/L.

Density is temperature dependent because the volume of a substance changes with temperature. Temperature should always be reported along with density.

Density can be used as a conversion factor to convert the mass of a sample into its volume and vice versa.