Does 1 ml Equal 1 g? What About a 100 ml Perfume Bottle? Let’s Find Out

A common question arises: why do perfumes usually indicate volumes like 100 ml, 50 ml, or 30 ml, instead of using grams for simplicity, even though we might think that 1 ml = 1 g? The answer is that ml and g belong to different measurement systems, but they can be compared using density or specific gravity to convert between units.

• ml (milliliter) is a unit of volume. 1 ml equals 1 cc (cubic centimeter).

• g (gram) is a unit of mass or weight.

The easiest way to explain the relationship between these units is by using pure water.

Pure water has a density of 1 g/ml. This means if we measure 1 ml (or 1 cc) of pure water, its weight will be exactly 1 g. In short:

1 ml of pure water = 1 cc = 1 g

However, for other substances that are not pure water, such as oils, their density is not 1 g/ml. Therefore, 1 g of these substances does not equal 1 ml.

For example, 1 ml of certain oils may weigh around 1.03 g.

So when a perfume bottle indicates a volume of 100 ml, remember that this number is based on the measurement standard for pure water. This is why perfumes are always labeled in ml, not grams.