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Specific Gravity Calculator

Find the specific gravity.

How it is calculated

Specific gravity compares a material with water. The tool uses water at 1000 kg/m³ (1 g/cm³) as the fixed reference and computes SG = ρ ÷ 1000, where ρ is the density you enter in kg/m³. The answer has no unit and is rounded to three decimals.

An SG of exactly 1 means the same density as water, a value below 1 floats on water and a value above 1 sinks in it. The tool has one input only: it does not ask for a separate water density, so it does not adjust for warm water, salt water or another reference liquid. Zero is accepted and gives 0.000; a negative or empty density returns nothing. Density in g/cm³ must be multiplied by 1000 before entering.

Worked example

Take structural steel, with a density of about 7850 kg/m³.

Divide by the water reference: 7850 ÷ 1000 = 7.850. The material is 7.85 times as dense as water, so it sinks, and a block of it weighs about 7.85 kg per litre of volume. Pure water at 1000 kg/m³ would give exactly 1.000, and a wood of 600 kg/m³ would give 0.600 and float.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the density in g/cm³ (for example 7.85). The tool expects kg/m³, so 7.85 returns 0.008 instead of 7.850.
  • Entering the SG itself as the density, which divides it by 1000 a second time.
  • Treating the result as a mass or weight. SG is a ratio and carries no unit.
  • Expecting the answer to change with water temperature or salinity. The reference is fixed at 1000 kg/m³.
  • Using it for liquids measured in other fields (brewing or urine tests) without checking that those readings are in kg/m³ first; a hydrometer reading of 1.050 is already a specific gravity.

About this calculator

This calculator finds specific gravity — the ratio of a substance's density to the density of water (1 g/cm³ at 4°C) — so you get a simple, unitless number that tells you whether something sinks or floats and by how much.

Geologists and gem collectors use it to help identify minerals, brewers use it to track sugar content before and after fermentation, and medical labs use it on urine samples to check kidney concentrating ability. It's the same underlying comparison across all of these very different fields.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Hydrometer readings are already specific gravity, so only a density needs this tool. If you know a liquid weighs 1050 kg/m³, entering 1050 returns 1.050, the same style of number a brewer reads off the scale. Anything under 1 floats on water: 917, a typical figure for ice, returns 0.917. Which material or liquid are you comparing against water?

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