Specific weight, γ, has units typically or is defined by the ratio of the weight to the volume of a substance: While technically, a pound is a measure of mass, and weight is actually a measure of force, the two are equivalent as long as we are performing our calculations on Earth.įor example, an object with a mass of 1 pound weighs 1 pound on Earth, but only weighs one-sixth of that on the moon, yet still has the same mass.Density, ρ, has units typically or, and is defined by the ratio of the mass to the volume of a substance: For example, 1 pound can be written as 1 lb, 1 lb m, or 1 #, and 2 pounds can be written as 2 lbs.Ī pound is also frequently referred to as a unit of weight. Pounds can be abbreviated as lb (plural lbs), and are also sometimes abbreviated as lb m or #. A pound is sometimes also referred to as a common ounce. The pound is a US customary and imperial unit of mass. In the avoirdupois or apothecaries' systems, one pound is equal to 7,000 grains. One pound is equal to 16 ounces, or 0.45359237 kilograms. The National Bureau of Standards approved the international definition of the pound for use in the United States in 1959 after an agreement between six nations referred to as the International Yard and Pound Agreement. Pounds are a widely used unit of weight in the United States. Gallons can be abbreviated as gal for example, 1 gallon can be written as 1 gal. The gallon is a US customary unit of volume. The US liquid gallon should not be confused with the US dry gallon or the imperial gallon, which are different units of measure. The US liquid gallon is a unit of fluid volume equal to four quarts, eight pints, or sixteen cups. So, one gallon of water weighs about 8.345 pounds and one gallon of milk weighs about 8.6 pounds. Gallon measurements converted to pounds for commonly used cooking and baking ingredients.

The table below shows how many pounds of various wet and dry ingredients are in a gallon. The actual weight of a gallon will vary depending on the density of the material. Keep reading to learn more about each unit of measure. Trucks, ships, and airplanes are limited in the amount of weight or volume they can transport, so if one of those quantities is known, but the limitation is on the other, then it becomes necessary to convert between the two so as not to overload the shipping vehicle. Ī third application of weight and volume conversions is when shipping freight when calculating the volumetric weight for cargo and packages. It is common to mix powdered chemicals with liquid, or aqueous, chemicals, and this is where it becomes very useful to convert between weights and volumes.

When performing chemical reactions by combining separate chemicals to produce a new chemical, one must know the exact amount of each chemical to add in order to maximize the yield of the reaction. When a scale is not available, a calculator like the one above is a good way to estimate the volume to weight conversion.Īnother useful application of weight and volume conversions is chemistry. The best way to ensure an accurate conversion is to use a scale. The density of dry ingredients can vary for a variety of reasons, such as compaction and clumping. Gallons and pounds are both commonly used to measure cooking ingredients.įor cooking applications, most chefs suggest measuring dry ingredients by weight rather than volume to improve accuracy in the measurements. Learn more with our water weight calculator. Trying to figure out how much a gallon of water weighs? It's 8.345 pounds.

Thus, the weight in pounds is equal to the volume in gallons multiplied by 8.3454 times the density (in g/mL) of the ingredient, substance, or material. If the density is given in grams per milliliter (g/mL), then first multiply the density by 8.3454 to convert to lb/gal.įor a density given in g/mL, you can use this simple formula to convert: Note that in order for this to work, the density must be in pounds per gallon (lb/gal). To convert a measurement in gallons to pounds, multiply the volume by the density of the ingredient or material. Therefore, to convert between gallons and pounds of an ingredient or substance, we must either multiply or divide by its density, depending on which direction we are performing the conversion. In this case, we need to account for the density of the substance whenever we do a conversion. Since gallons are a unit of volume and pounds are a unit of mass, which are different physical quantities, we need to know one more physical quantity of the ingredient or substance to convert between them. He specializes in math, science, and astrophysics. Ethan has a PhD in astrophysics and is currently a satellite imaging scientist.

Water density lbgal