Final answer:
Mercury's specific gravity is calculated by dividing its density (13.6 g/cm³) by the density of water (1 g/cm³), which results in a specific gravity of 13.6.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the density of mercury is 13.6 g/cm³, we can calculate mercury’s specific gravity by comparing its density with the density of water at 4°C, which is typically used as the reference substance for specific gravity calculations and is 1 g/cm³. Specific gravity is a dimensionless quantity and is defined as the ratio of the density of a substance to the density of a reference substance.
Specific gravity of mercury = Density of mercury / Density of water
= 13.6 g/cm³ / 1 g/cm³
= 13.6
Therefore, the specific gravity of mercury is 13.6.