What does density refer to in scientific terms?

Density in scientific terms is defined as the ratio of mass to volume. This means it is a measure of how much mass is contained in a given volume of a substance. When you calculate density, you take the total mass of the object and divide it by its volume, resulting in a value that often helps to understand how heavy or light a material is relative to its size.

For instance, if you have two objects with the same volume but different masses, the object with the greater mass will have a higher density. This principle is essential in various scientific applications, including buoyancy, material identification, and even in understanding the properties of gases and liquids.

The other options do not accurately capture this definition. Density is not just about the weight of an object, which can be influenced by gravitational pull and does not provide a clear understanding of how mass is distributed in space. Additionally, it is not exclusively about volume, as volume alone does not convey information about how much material is present. Finally, density is unrelated to temperature, which measures how hot or cold a substance is and does not express the relationship between mass and volume.