While on the face of it a pound of feathers would seem to weigh the same as a pound of gold, this overlooks the fact that gold is universally weighed using a different definition of 'pound' than that used for most other materials.
Precious metals such as gold are measured in troy weight. A troy pound is 12 troy ounces, and each troy ounce is 480 grains, making a total of 5760 grains to the pound of gold.
Most materials use pounds and ounces from the avoirdupois system, and such a standard pound is made up of 16 ounces, where each ounce is 437.5 grains, making a total of 7000 grains to the pound of feathers.
All this means that a "pound" of feathers (or bricks, or lead) is heavier than a "pound" of gold.
The question is an old gag, based on the fact that gold is measured in troy ounces, but feathers (like all material other than precious metals and gemstones) are measured in avoirdupois ounces. Because troy weight has 12 ounces to a pound, but avoirdupois weight has 16 ounces to a pound, the trick answer is that a pound of feathers (at 16 ounces) is heavier than a pound of gold (at 12 ounces).
Another user said:
A pound of anything weighs the same as a pound of anything else.
However, feathers as weighed using imperial weight, which puts 16 ounces to the pound. Gold is weighed using troy weights (for precious metals) which has 12 ounces to the pound.
So a pound of feathers weighs more than a pound of gold, since different pounds are spoken of.
Another user said:
A pound of feathers is heavier- because a pound is NOT always a pound. Gold, silver, platinum- and all precious metals are measured in TROY ounces and TROY pounds. A troy pound weighs less than a standard (avoirdupois) pound.
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoWiki User
∙ 11y agoThis is a favoured trick question of teachers since time immemorial, the joke is of course that they both weigh a pound, so they both weigh the same.
The pounds and ounces that are used to weigh gold are a different size from those used for everyday objects like feathers.
Gold, along with other precious metal and gems, is weighed in "Troy" ounces, everything else is weighed in avoirdupois ounces. A troy ounce is bigger than a normal ounce. Troy ounces weigh 31.10 grams, whereas an avoirdupois ounce weighs 28.35 grams.
This means an ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of feathers by 2.75 grams.
But, while there are sixteen ounces in an avoirdupois pound, there are only twelve ounces in a troy pound.
This means that a pound of feathers weighs 454 grams, and a pound of gold weighs 373 grams. So that the pound of feathers is 81 grams heavier than the pound of gold.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoActually, this is one of the very few instances where a pound is NOT a pound. Gold, silver, platinum, and all precious metals are measured in Troy ounces and troy pounds. Common materials- feathers, sugar, soap- are measured in avoirdupois ounces and pounds. There are 12 troy ounces per troy pound, rather than the 16 ounces per pound found in the more common avoirdupois system. The troy ounce is 480 grains, compared with the avoirdupois ounce, which is 437 1â„2 grains. A pound of feathers is heavier than a pound of gold. Don't expect anyone but a jeweler or dealer in precious metals to know this.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThey both weigh the same - one pound!
(Only, the volume of the feathers is greater than the volume of the gold)
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoNeither of the two weigh more...both weigh 1-pound. Granted you'd have way more feathers than gold, a pound of gold and a pound of feathers would weigh the same.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoSeriously? Think about what your asking. Does one pound weigh more than one pound??
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThey both weigh the same. But the feathers would take up a lot more space than the gold.
Anonymous
pound of feathers
it matters what the substance is. If 878g of gold vs. 1487 g of silver, the density of gold is still more
I figured out in converting material from pound to kg for quoting purposes we must use avdp. 1 avdp pound = 2.20462 kg and this is accepted by OEMs as the conversion. I double checked that to 1 short ton = 2000 avdp pounds whereas 1 short ton = 2430.556 troy pounds.
Sand is denser than feathers. Since a given volume of a denser material has more mass than the same volume of a less dense material, when you make the masses the same, the volumes must vary.
My guess is that anything liquid vs. anything solid always has more energy because it has more heat. The atoms in liquid gold have more energy so they bounce around more and spread apart, making it flow more, and expand. Solid gold has less energy so atoms are more still and come closer together making it solid.
A pound (a standard pound) is equal to 6,000 grains of barley. This pound is divided into 16 parts called ounces. Troy pounds, on the other hand, are composed 5760 grains. These pounds are usually used to measure precious metals. Each troy ounce is made up of 12 ounces.
Its one pound of ten gold coins doesnt matter wht type they are the fact is theres 1 pound of gold vs 1/2 a pound of gold the 20gold coins are obviously lighter
They both weigh the same. A POUND of feathers vs. a POUND of rocks. A pound is a pound, and whether it is a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks, it doesn't matter. It's still a pound. THINK ABOUT IT!
One troy pound is 0.8228571 avoirdupois pounds.
We would have to know what you are converting. Cups is a measure of volume. Pounds is a measure of weight and mass. You can not directly convert the two. It could be one to a 100 if it is lead vs. feathers.
turkey feathers are bigger
The measure of one gram of gold equals 15.43 grains of gold. One gram of gold equals .035274 ounces of gold.
bleach vs one piece cooldown cheat
A gram is a measure of mass or weight and how it looks would vary depending on the material of interest (the old "pound of feathers vs. a pound of gold" comparison). A common object that weighs ~ 1 gram is a standard paperclip. So, for 10 grams, grab a small handful of paperclips. This should give you an idea or feel for what 10 grams looks like.
greedisgood 999999
a pound of water will weigh the same as a pound of chocolate
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