Eli5: Why does shovelling snow feel heavier when it’s wet? Isn’t the volume of water (snow) the same?

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In Toronto last night there was a big storm and today the sun’s out melting everything; shovelling today’s wet snow feels much more difficult than yesterday

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24 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

volume does not equal weight. a volume of gold weighs a little bit more than an equal volume of feathers.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wet snow is wet because it’s more dense with water, there’s literally more water in it than it light fluffy snow.

It feels more difficult because it’s heavier denser snow

Anonymous 0 Comments

There’s loads of empty air in dry snow. Wet snow it’s just heavy due to additional water.

Imagine a towel dry vs wet , same volume different weight

Anonymous 0 Comments

When water turns to ice it expands (takes up more space) but doesn’t get any heavier since there isnt any matter being added to it. Therefore, it is less dense. Density is just a ratio of how much space something takes up versus how much it actually weighs. Something that takes up very little space but weighs a lot is considered more dense, whereas something light and spacious would be less dense.

If you’re talking about an equal volume (how much space it takes up) of two materials, whichever is denser will be heavier, so ice that has been melting or rained on will likely weigh more since it has more liquid matter per cubic inch than powdery fresh snow, for example.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wet snow is wet because it’s more dense with water, there’s literally more water in it than it light fluffy snow.

It feels more difficult because it’s heavier denser snow

Anonymous 0 Comments

There’s loads of empty air in dry snow. Wet snow it’s just heavy due to additional water.

Imagine a towel dry vs wet , same volume different weight

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wet snow is wet because it’s more dense with water, there’s literally more water in it than it light fluffy snow.

It feels more difficult because it’s heavier denser snow

Anonymous 0 Comments

When water turns to ice it expands (takes up more space) but doesn’t get any heavier since there isnt any matter being added to it. Therefore, it is less dense. Density is just a ratio of how much space something takes up versus how much it actually weighs. Something that takes up very little space but weighs a lot is considered more dense, whereas something light and spacious would be less dense.

If you’re talking about an equal volume (how much space it takes up) of two materials, whichever is denser will be heavier, so ice that has been melting or rained on will likely weigh more since it has more liquid matter per cubic inch than powdery fresh snow, for example.

Anonymous 0 Comments

volume does not equal weight. a volume of gold weighs a little bit more than an equal volume of feathers.

Anonymous 0 Comments

volume does not equal weight. a volume of gold weighs a little bit more than an equal volume of feathers.