Mass vs. Volume — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on September 19, 2023
Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, usually measured in kilograms. Volume is the measure of the space an object occupies, typically measured in cubic meters.
Difference Between Mass and Volume
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Mass is a fundamental property of matter that quantifies the amount of substance in an object. It is usually measured in kilograms and remains constant regardless of location. Volume, on the other hand, measures how much space an object takes up and is commonly measured in cubic meters or liters.
Mass is independent of the state of the matter; whether a substance is solid, liquid, or gas, its mass will remain the same. Volume is highly dependent on the state and conditions. For example, a gas can occupy different volumes depending on temperature and pressure.
In physics, mass is essential for calculating force, work, and energy. It is a scalar quantity, meaning it has magnitude but no direction. Volume, however, is more often used in contexts like fluid dynamics and thermodynamics and is a scalar quantity as well.
Mass and volume are also used in everyday language but with less scientific precision. For instance, we might refer to a 'mass' of people or the 'volume' of a book, deviating from their strict scientific definitions. In both scientific and lay terms, mass and volume are distinct but often related concepts.
Comparison Chart
Unit of Measurement
Kilograms
Cubic meters, Liters
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Dependence on Conditions
Constant
Variable
Role in Physics
Force, work, energy
Fluid dynamics, thermodynamics
Scalar or Vector
Scalar
Scalar
Everyday Usage
Amount of matter
Amount of space
Compare with Definitions
Mass
A term for a large amount or aggregation.
A mass of protesters gathered in the square.
Volume
A quantity that can change depending on conditions like temperature and pressure.
The volume of the balloon decreased when it was cooled.
Mass
Mass is both a property of a physical body and a measure of its resistance to acceleration (rate of change of velocity with respect to time) when a net force is applied. An object's mass also determines the strength of its gravitational attraction to other bodies.
Volume
A scalar quantity relevant in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics.
Volume plays a critical role in equations of state in thermodynamics.
Mass
The celebration of the Christian Eucharist, especially in the Roman Catholic Church
We went to Mass
Volume
A unit to describe the capacity of a container or space.
The volume of the stadium is impressive.
Mass
Involving or affecting large numbers of people or things
A mass exodus of refugees
The film has mass appeal
Volume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by a closed surface, for example, the space that a substance (solid, liquid, gas, or plasma) or 3D shape occupies or contains. Volume is often quantified numerically using the SI derived unit, the cubic metre.
Mass
Assemble or cause to assemble into a single body or mass
Both countries began massing troops in the region
Clouds massed heavily on the horizon
Volume
A collection of written or printed sheets bound together; a book.
Mass
Public celebration of the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant churches.
Volume
One of the books of a work printed and bound in more than one book.
Mass
The sacrament of the Eucharist.
Volume
A series of issues of a periodical, usually covering one calendar year.
Mass
A musical setting of certain parts of the Mass, especially the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
Volume
A unit of written material assembled together and cataloged in a library.
Mass
A unified body of matter with no specific shape
A mass of clay.
Volume
A roll of parchment; a scroll.
Mass
A grouping of individual parts or elements that compose a unified body of unspecified size or quantity
"Take mankind in mass, and for the most part, they seem a mob of unnecessary duplicates" (Herman Melville).
Volume
The amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object or region of space, expressed in cubic units.
Mass
A large but nonspecific amount or number
A mass of bruises.
Volume
The capacity of such a region or of a specified container, expressed in cubic units.
Mass
A lump or aggregate of coherent material
A cancerous mass.
Volume
Amount; quantity:a low volume of business; a considerable volume of lumber.
Mass
The principal part; the majority
The mass of the continent.
Volume
OftenvolumesA large amount:volumes of praise.
Mass
The physical volume or bulk of a solid body.
Volume
The amplitude or loudness of a sound.
Mass
Abbr. m(Physics) A property of matter equal to the measure of the amount of matter contained in or constituting a physical body that partly determines the body's resistance to changes in the speed or direction of its motion. The mass of an object is not dependent on gravity and therefore is different from but proportional to its weight.
Volume
A control, as on a radio, for adjusting amplitude or loudness.
Mass
An area of unified light, shade, or color in a painting.
Volume
A three-dimensional measure of space that comprises a length, a width and a height. It is measured in units of cubic centimeters in metric, cubic inches or cubic feet in English measurement.
The room is 9x12x8, so its volume is 864 cubic feet.
The proper products can improve your hair's volume.
Mass
(Pharmacology) A thick, pasty mixture containing drugs from which pills are formed.
Volume
Strength of sound; loudness.
Please turn down the volume on the stereo.
Volume can be measured in decibels.
Mass
Masses The body of common people or people of low socioeconomic status
"Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" (Emma Lazarus).
Volume
The issues of a periodical over a period of one year.
I looked at this week's copy of the magazine. It was volume 23, issue 45.
Mass
To gather or be gathered into a mass.
Volume
A bound book.
Mass
Of, relating to, characteristic of, directed at, or attended by a large number of people
Mass education.
Mass communication.
Volume
A single book of a publication issued in multi-book format, such as an encyclopedia.
The letter "G" was found in volume 4.
Mass
Done or carried out on a large scale
Mass production.
Volume
A great amount (of meaning) about something.
Mass
Total; complete
The mass result is impressive.
Volume
(obsolete) A roll or scroll, which was the form of ancient books.
Mass
(physical) Matter, material.
Volume
Quantity.
The volume of ticket sales decreased this week.
Mass
A quantity of matter cohering together so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually of considerable size.
Volume
A rounded mass or convolution.
Mass
(obsolete) Precious metal, especially gold or silver.
Volume
(economics) The total supply of money in circulation or, less frequently, total amount of credit extended, within a specified national market or worldwide.
Mass
(physics) The quantity of matter which a body contains, irrespective of its bulk or volume. It is one of four fundamental properties of matter. SI unit of mass: kilogram.
Volume
(computing) An accessible storage area with a single file system, typically resident on a single partition of a hard disk.
Mass
(pharmaceutical drug) A medicinal substance made into a cohesive, homogeneous lump, of consistency suitable for making pills; as, blue mass.
Volume
(bodybuilding) The total of weight worked by a muscle in one training session, the weight of every single repetition summed up.
Mass
(medicine) A palpable or visible abnormal globular structure; a tumor.
Volume
(intransitive) To be conveyed through the air, waft.
Mass
(bodybuilding) Excess body weight, especially in the form of muscle hypertrophy.
Volume
(transitive) To cause to move through the air, waft.
Mass
(proscribed) weight
Volume
(intransitive) To swell.
Mass
A large quantity; a sum.
Volume
A roll; a scroll; a written document rolled up for keeping or for use, after the manner of the ancients.
The papyrus, and afterward the parchment, was joined together [by the ancients] to form one sheet, and then rolled upon a staff into a volume (volumen).
Mass
Bulk; magnitude; body; size.
Volume
Hence, a collection of printed sheets bound together, whether containing a single work, or a part of a work, or more than one work; a book; a tome; especially, that part of an extended work which is bound up together in one cover; as, a work in four volumes.
An odd volume of a set of books bears not the value of its proportion to the set.
Mass
The principal part; the main body.
Volume
Anything of a rounded or swelling form resembling a roll; a turn; a convolution; a coil.
So glides some trodden serpent on the grass,And long behind wounded volume trails.
Undulating billows rolling their silver volumes.
Mass
A large body of individuals, especially persons.
The mass of spectators didn't see the infraction on the field.
A mass of ships converged on the beaches of Dunkirk.
Volume
Dimensions; compass; space occupied, as measured by cubic units, that is, cubic inches, feet, yards, etc.; mass; bulk; as, the volume of an elephant's body; a volume of gas.
Mass
(in the plural) The lower classes of persons.
The masses are revolting.
Volume
Amount, fullness, quantity, or caliber of voice or tone.
Mass
(Christianity) The Eucharist, now especially in Roman Catholicism.
Volume
The amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object;
The gas expanded to twice its original volume
Mass
(Christianity) Celebration of the Eucharist.
Volume
The property of something that is great in magnitude;
It is cheaper to buy it in bulk
He received a mass of correspondence
The volume of exports
Mass
The sacrament of the Eucharist.
Volume
Physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together;
He used a large book as a doorstop
Mass
A musical setting of parts of the mass.
Volume
A publication that is one of a set of several similar publications;
The third volume was missing
He asked for the 1989 volume of the Annual Review
Mass
(transitive) To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to bring together into masses; to assemble.
Volume
A relative amount;
Mix one volume of the solution with ten volumes of water
Mass
(intransitive) To assemble in a mass
Volume
The magnitude of sound (usually in a specified direction);
The kids played their music at full volume
Mass
To celebrate mass.
Volume
A measure of the space an object occupies.
The volume of this container is two liters.
Mass
Involving a mass of things; concerning a large quantity or number.
There is evidence of mass extinctions in the distant past.
Volume
A term for the amount of loudness or intensity in sound.
Turn down the volume; it's too loud.
Mass
Involving a mass of people; of, for, or by the masses.
Mass unemployment resulted from the financial collapse.
Mass
The sacrifice in the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the consecration and oblation of the host.
Mass
The portions of the Mass usually set to music, considered as a musical composition; - namely, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei, besides sometimes an Offertory and the Benedictus.
Mass
A quantity of matter cohering together so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually of considerable size; as, a mass of ore, metal, sand, or water.
If it were not for these principles, the bodies of the earth, planets, comets, sun, and all things in them, would grow cold and freeze, and become inactive masses.
A deep mass of continual sea is slower stirredTo rage.
Mass
A medicinal substance made into a cohesive, homogeneous lump, of consistency suitable for making pills; as, blue mass.
Mass
A large quantity; a sum.
All the mass of gold that comes into Spain.
He had spent a huge mass of treasure.
Mass
Bulk; magnitude; body; size.
This army of such mass and charge.
Mass
The principal part; the main body.
Night closed upon the pursuit, and aided the mass of the fugitives in their escape.
Mass
The quantity of matter which a body contains, irrespective of its bulk or volume.
Mass
To celebrate Mass.
Mass
To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to bring together into masses; to assemble.
But mass them together and they are terrible indeed.
Mass
The property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
Mass
(often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent;
A batch of letters
A deal of trouble
A lot of money
He made a mint on the stock market
It must have cost plenty
Mass
An ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)
Mass
(Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist
Mass
A body of matter without definite shape;
A huge ice mass
Mass
The common people generally;
Separate the warriors from the mass
Power to the people
Mass
The property of something that is great in magnitude;
It is cheaper to buy it in bulk
He received a mass of correspondence
The volume of exports
Mass
A musical setting for a Mass;
They played a Mass composed by Beethoven
Mass
A sequence of prayers constituting the Christian eucharistic rite;
The priest said Mass
Mass
Join together into a mass or collect or form a mass;
Crowds were massing outside the palace
Mass
Occurring widely (as to many people);
Mass destruction
Mass
Gathered or tending to gather into a mass or whole;
Aggregate expenses include expenses of all divisions combined for the entire year
The aggregated amount of indebtedness
Mass
A property that remains constant regardless of location.
The mass of the astronaut remained the same, even on the Moon.
Mass
A scalar quantity used in physics.
Mass is essential for calculating force in Newton's second law.
Mass
The source of an object's weight through gravitational interaction.
The mass of an object determines its weight on Earth.
Common Curiosities
What is Mass?
Mass is the measure of the amount of matter in an object.
Does Volume change?
Volume can change based on conditions like temperature and pressure.
How is Mass used in physics?
Mass is essential for calculating force, work, and energy.
What is the unit for Volume?
The units for volume are cubic meters or liters.
How is Volume used in physics?
Volume is often used in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics.
What is Volume?
Volume is the measure of space that an object occupies.
Is Mass constant?
Mass remains constant regardless of its location or state.
Does Volume affect weight?
Volume itself doesn't affect weight, but it can influence buoyancy in fluids.
What is the unit for Mass?
The unit for mass is usually kilograms.
Is Mass a vector or scalar?
Mass is a scalar quantity.
Can Volume be zero?
In everyday scenarios, volume cannot be zero, but in mathematical constructs, it can be.
Do Mass and Volume have everyday meanings?
Yes, both terms are used in less precise ways in everyday language, like 'mass of people' or 'volume of a book.'
Can Mass be zero?
In classical physics, mass cannot be zero.
Is Volume a vector or scalar?
Volume is a scalar quantity.
Does Mass affect weight?
Yes, mass is the source of an object's weight due to gravity.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
