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Explain why density is more useful for identifying a substance than either mass or volume

User Kiennt
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Answer:

Mass and volume are extrinsic properties.

A pail may contain water that is 1 kg in mass and 1 L in volume.

A drop of water may be 1 g in mass and 1 mL in volume.

Both are water, but they have different mass and volumes. Therefore you can't identify whether a substance is water just by measuring its mass and volume.

However, the ratio of the mass to volume (density) can be used to identify substances.

User Tahir Siddiqui
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