Probably a very novice question

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The discussion revolves around calculating the mass of an object given its density and dimensions. The user seeks clarification on interpreting the density notation "5 x 10^3 kg m-3," which represents 5000 kg/m³, indicating mass per cubic meter. There is confusion regarding the negative sign in the unit, which simply denotes that cubic meters are in the denominator and does not require any subtraction in calculations. The user learns to calculate the volume of a sphere using the radius derived from the diameter and applies the density formula to find the mass. Ultimately, the mass of the object is calculated to be approximately 254,825 kg.
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Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and it looks an excellent forum, and busy too, which is always good! I feel a bit of a novice for asking this, but i have never been that great at Maths or Physics, so bear with me please.

Homework Statement



Basically, i would like to know please, if i was dealing with a density which has a minus at the end of the cubic metres, how do i go about that?

I need to work out the density of an object with the calculation...

5 x 103 kg m-3

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Im guessing that when there is 5 x 103 that means 5 x 30,000?

But it is just the m-3 which then confuses me.

Many thanks and again sorry for the novice post.
 
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the m-3 is just the unit; it means that for every cubic meter the mass is 5000 kg. Density is Mass/Volume.
The density given is 5000 \frac{kg}{m^3}
 
Thanks MrWarlock616, appreciate your quick and helpful reply.

So (again, sorry if it's a novice question), the - doesn't have any significance?

Do i not have to minus anything from the calculation or anything like that?

Thanks again.
 
No, you don't have to subtract anything. Just use 5000 as the density. The minus indicates that cubic meter is in the denominator.
 
Ah right! Thank you again for the explanation and the advice!

Much appreciated.
 
Sorry, i still seem to be struggling with this, and not sure why, it is frustrating.

It is thought that the object was around 4.6 m across. Assume the body is a sphere, with a density of

5 x 103 kg m-3

i am required to work out the mass of the object.

This is really annoying me as i can't work it out! Thanks again for any help.
 
Density is ##\frac{Mass}{Volume}##. So the Mass to be found is

##Mass=(Density)(Volume)##

Volume of a sphere is ##\frac{4}{3}\pi r^3##.

But the object is 4.6 meters across. Hence the diameter of the sphere is 4.6 meters.
So the radius ##r=2.3##

Now use the formulae I gave you.

I love using LaTex
 
Thank you!

So...

The, if the radius is 2.3, the volume of the sphere =

50.965010421636

The density is 5000kg m3

Then the mass =

254825.0521081800 kg
 
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