what is the density of steel

The density of steel is typically around 7.8–7.9 grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm³), which is about 7,850–7,900 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³).

Since you asked for a structured “Quick Scoop”, here’s a compact breakdown.

Basic value (short answer)

• Most general-purpose or mild steels: ≈ 7.85 g/cm³.

• In SI units: ≈ 7,850 kg/m³.

• In imperial units: ≈ 490 lb/ft³.

Why it’s a range, not one exact number

Steel is an alloy, so its exact density depends on composition and treatment.

• Typical range for common steels: 7.75–8.05 g/cm³ (7,750–8,050 kg/m³).

• Stainless steels tend to be near the upper end, often close to 8,000 kg/m³.

• Low/medium/high carbon steels are frequently taken as 7.85 g/cm³ in engineering handbooks and weight calculators.

Mini example

If you have a solid steel block of 0.01 m³ (10 liters), using 7,850 kg/m³ gives a mass of:

• 7,850 kg/m³×0.01 m³=78.5 kg7,850\text{ kg/m³}\times 0.01\text{ m³}=78.5\text{ kg}7,850 kg/m³×0.01 m³=78.5 kg.

Quick HTML table (for engineering use)

Below is an HTML table since you requested tables in that format:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Type of value</th>
      <th>Density</th>
      <th>Units</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Typical steel (rule of thumb)</td>
      <td>7.85</td>
      <td>g/cm³</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Typical steel (SI engineering)</td>
      <td>7,850</td>
      <td>kg/m³</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Common range for steels</td>
      <td>7.75–8.05</td>
      <td>g/cm³</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Approximate density in imperial</td>
      <td>≈ 490</td>
      <td>lb/ft³</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Tiny “story” to remember it

Engineers often remember steel by comparison: aluminum is roughly one-third as dense and titanium about half as dense, so if you know aluminum is near 2.7 g/cm³, tripling that gets you close to steel at about 7.8–7.9 g/cm³.

TL;DR: For most practical calculations, using 7.85 g/cm³ (7,850 kg/m³) as the density of steel is accurate enough unless you are working with a specialized alloy that specifies otherwise.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.