What kind of unit is this?

[Harry_James_Potter]

Then, which weighs more, a pound of lead or a pound of gold?

Bob

See Above...

And it depends on which you buy... A pound of gold is heavy on the wallet...

regards

Harry

 

[rweber95]

Answer is lead.
Lead weight measured in Avoirdupois. 1 Lb = 0.454 kg.
Gold weight measured in Troy. 1 Lb = 0.373 kg.
Gold may be lighter but I'll take it if I get a choice.

Bob

 

[Phil_C]

Answer is lead.
Lead weight measured in Avoirdupois. 1 Lb = 0.454 kg.
Gold weight measured in Troy. 1 Lb = 0.373 kg.
Gold may be lighter but I'll take it if I get a choice.

Bob

Actually Bob the answer is a US pound is a US pound (or UK pound or a Avoirdupois pound) and therefore both are identical in weight but not in the physical space required by each i.e. dimensions. What you have done is compare a Troy pound to a Avoirdupois pound which is the same as comparing a metric measurement to an imperial measurement.

The answer to the trick question as Colhad pointed out is neither as they both weigh the same. I have seen so many people answer feathers simply because they have a much lower density than lead but a ton is a "mass" measurement and therefore what constitutes the mass is irrelevant. If however I was to say what would be heavier a cubic meter of feathers or a cubic meter of lead the answer then would of course be lead because we are now talking about specific "volume".

Regards

Phil

 

[rweber95]

I'm not talking about the lead/feather question. If someone hands you a 1 pound block of gold and a 1 pound block of lead and you weigh each of them on a bathroom scales, the lead will weigh more.

Bob

 

[Phil_C]

Hello Bob
You are incorrect. They both must weigh the same if you are talking about the same units. If you have a pound of lead and a pound of gold they will weigh the same but the volume will be different.

Regards

Phil

 

[rweber95]

I don't want to keep beating this dead horse but a pound of gold is measured using the Troy weight system. A Troy pound weighs 373 grams while an Avoirdupois pound weighs 453 grams. I'm not talking the same units. A pound of lead is heavier than a pound of gold because lead is measured in Avoirdupois and gold in Troy.

To make matters more confusing, a Troy pound only has 12 ounces so a Troy ounce is heavier than an Avoirdupois ounce. A Troy ounce weighs 31.1 grams and an Avoirdupois ounce weighs 28.3 grams.

My head hurts.

Bob

 

[Phil_C]

I'm not talking the same units.

Hence your confusion

A pound of lead is heavier than a pound of gold because lead is measured in Avoirdupois and gold in Troy.

The problem here is your text should read;

An Avoirdupois pound of lead is heavier than a Troy pound of gold

My point that I am trying to make is that if the elements were measured using the SAME UNITS then they must be the same. If you were to measure 1 Troy pound of gold and 1 Avoirdupois pound of lead then of course they would read different weights in standard imperial or metric measurements because the original units were different.

Regards

PHil