# Convert solid to liquid **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404 "2004-02-04T00:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/1 "2004-02-04T00:42:15Z")
If you have a pill, or a capsule, that is labeled 20 Mg. , and you have the exact same ingredient in liquid form, how much of the liquid form need be drawn into an eye dropper to equal 20 Mg.? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/2 "2004-02-04T00:49:39Z")
That depends on the density of the substance, and how much other stuff is mixed in with the liquid. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/3 "2004-02-04T00:53:41Z")
20 mg of water is equal to 20 cc of water. You would have to know the density of the other substance compared to water to be able to answer your question. However, if you are talking about an actual pill or capsule, a medicine that contains 20 mg of the active ingredient, there is no way to answer this question without knowing the exact composition of the original. All medications have inactive ingredients mixed in with them, to help them dissolve, absorb, or simply to bulk them out to a large enough size to put a name or number or them. And the liquid versions of these medications will likely have a different composition, different inactive ingredients, and possibly a different form of the medicine itself. There is usually no way to simply take a pill and dissolve it in water to make a match. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/4 "2004-02-04T00:54:53Z")
Or if you are asking about the liquid vs the solid form of the same substance, the answer would depend on how the density changes between solid and liquid. The solid is usually denser, but, as water as with water/ice, that’s not always true. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/5 "2004-02-04T01:03:30Z")
Well the pill capsule labelled 20 mg contains 20 mg of the active ingredient. You would have to weigh the pill/ capsule to get the mass of active plus inactive ingredient in it. Then if you know that the liquid form has exactly the same ingredients (how come it’s liquid then? presumably they are at the same temperature/pressure) you need to measure the same mass of liquid as the mass of the capsule/pill. To do this with a pipette that measures volume you will need to know the density of the liquid form of the drug. Then you have the equation mass of capsule = density of liquid x volume of liquid will allow you to work out the unknown volume of liquid that is required. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/6 "2004-02-04T01:29:41Z")
Just call your pharmacist and ask how much of the liquid to take! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/7 "2004-02-04T03:26:32Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > 20 mg of water is equal to 20 cc of water. No, 1mg is 1/1000 g, and 1g of water is 1ml=1cc. 20 mg of water is 0.02 cc. Not that it matters to the OP since, as pointed out, 20mg refers to the amount of active ingredient. We don’t know the concentration of the solid and liquid form of the medicine so we can’t answer the question. Nitpick: it’s “mg” not “Mg”. Small **m** means 1/1000, and capital **M** means 1000. 1 Mg would be 1 ton. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/8 "2004-02-04T17:06:09Z")
Nitnitpick M = 1000000 😉 ---
**Author:** ![venterap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@venterap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/venterap)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/9 "2004-02-04T17:35:52Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > 20 mg of water is equal to 20 cc of water. Err… not quite: 1000cc = 1liter; 1liter of water has a mass of 1kg = 1000g therefore 1cc has a mass of 1g and 20mg = 20/1000 = 0.02 cc, or very little indeed ---
**Author:** ![venterap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@venterap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/venterap)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-solid-to-liquid/227404/10 "2004-02-04T17:44:31Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > No, 1mg is 1/1000 g, and 1g of water is 1ml=1cc. 20 mg of water is 0.02 cc. > > Not that it matters to the OP since, as pointed out, 20mg refers to the amount of active ingredient. We don’t know the concentration of the solid and liquid form of the medicine so we can’t answer the question. > > Nitpick: it’s “mg” not “Mg”. Small **m** means 1/1000, and capital **M** means 1000. 1 Mg would be 1 ton. Oops, didnṫ see your post before I replied to the 20mg=2cc. [nitpick of a nitpick]That would be one **metric** ton which is happily also about equal to a “long” ton (2200 pounds). Or does “ton” imply “metric ton”? What is a “tonne” then?[/nitpick of a nitpick] :smack: