Is hardwood more dense than softwood?

Answer 1

Softwoods, or conifers, belong to the group of plants known as gymnosperms (flowerless seed-bearing plants). Conifers include pines, cedars, spruces, larches, and firs, and conifers are common in the world's temperate and boreal (northern) regions. Hardwoods belong to the group of plants called angiosperms (flowering plants). They include broad-leaved tree species such as oak, maple, beech, walnut, mahogany, teak, and balsa. The wood of some softwood trees is harder than that of some hardwood trees.

Answer 2

The botanic divisions of hardwood and softwood are best forgotten. Apple and other fruit woods are hardwoods, as is balsa; whereas some quite firm conifers are softwoods.

Better division is angiosperm vs gymnosperm.

Answer 3

hardwood is made from older trees.if you look at the centre of a piece hardwood you will notice alot more closer ringlets than softwood.this means its a well aged tree which in turn gives it that heavy,dense feel.softwood in the other hand,has less ringlets and which are much more far apart from each other,indicating wood from a younger tree.this wood has a lighter mass and is far more easier to work with and much easier to break too...each ring indicates a year. And also if you want to tell if something is soft wood you have to rub you thumb up and down the piece of wood and then take your thumb off the piece of wood and if it has a dent it is soft wood. The bigger the dent the softer the wood is. The above answer is not totally correct. The density of the wood determines the hardness. Oak, ash, maple and most fruit trees produce dense wood and are classified as hardwoods. The various pines supply most of our soft woods. Balsa which is very soft is used mostly by hobbiest because it is easy to work with. Hard wood is more difficult to work with. The age of the tree has very little to do with the woods density.

Answer 4

Soft wood is softer than hardwood. The rule of thumb is it is a hardwood if it loses its leaves in the winter (like a maple tree). Trees that don't lose foliage in winter like pine trees are normally softwood. The reason is that most leaf losing trees grow slower than fir trees creating denser wood with smaller yearly rings. Some trees that lose their leaves in winter but still grow fast are considered softwood, like poplar trees.

Answer 5

There are a number of characteristics of wood used to describe its qualities and suitability for any particular job. Among these are grain, shade or color and hardness. Hard or soft wood is a relative measure of it's density. There is more detail of the characteristics of wood at the web link below.

Answer 6

In most cases yes.