Article — CC to Grams Converter
CC to Grams Converter: Volume to Mass by Density
A cc to grams conversion multiplies a volume in cubic centimeters (cc, identical to a millilitre) by the substance density in g/mL. Water is the anchor at 1.000 g/mL, so 100 cc of water = 100 g. Honey is 1.42 g/mL (100 cc = 142 g), gasoline 0.737 g/mL (100 cc = 73.7 g), and mercury 13.546 g/mL (100 cc = 1354.6 g). Pick the substance first; the math is one multiplication.
What cc to grams conversion is
A cc to grams conversion answers the question “how much does this volume weigh?” for a specific substance. Mass equals volume times density. The cc (cubic centimeter) is a volume unit; the gram is a mass unit; the density of the substance in g/mL is the bridge.
The conversion is needed because most fluids look similar but weigh very differently. A 1-litre bottle of olive oil weighs 916 g, the same bottle of honey 1420 g, the same bottle of mercury 13.5 kg. A balance and a measuring cup disagree by the density factor.
Why cc to grams depends on density
Density (rho) is mass per unit volume. The SI unit is kg/m³, but kitchens, hospitals, and chemistry labs almost always quote g/mL, which equals kg/L. Water at its maximum density (4 °C) is the historical anchor at exactly 1.000 g/mL, which is why the gram was originally defined as the mass of 1 mL of water.
From 1799 until 1889 the kilogram was defined as the mass of one cubic decimeter (1 L) of pure water at 4 °C. That definition is what makes the cc to grams conversion for water come out to a clean 1:1, and the metric system feels intuitive in kitchens.
Once water is fixed at 1.000, every other liquid’s density expresses how much heavier or lighter it is per cc. Ethanol (96 percent) is 0.790 g/mL, so 100 cc weighs only 79 g. Honey is 1.420 g/mL, so 100 cc weighs 142 g. The same volume, the same vessel, almost double the mass.
cc vs mL vs cm³
cc, mL, and cm³ describe the same volume exactly. The choice of label is regional and disciplinary: cc is older and still standard in medicine (syringe volumes, engine displacement), mL is the modern kitchen and laboratory form, cm³ is the math and physics notation. A 5 cc dose, a 5 mL dose, and a 5 cm³ dose are identical.
- 1 cc = 1 cm³ = 1 mL
- 1 L = 1000 cc = 1000 mL
- 1 fl oz (US) = 29.57 cc
- 1 cup (US) = 236.6 cc
- 1 cc water = 1.000 g at 4 °C, 0.998 g at 20 °C
- Medical syringes still carry cc markings (1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 60 cc)
CC to grams for water and watery liquids
Water is the simple case. 1 cc of pure water at 4 °C weighs exactly 1 g; at 20 °C it weighs 0.998 g. Any water-based liquid stays within a few percent of that anchor. Whole milk is 1.027 g/mL, skim milk 1.035, heavy cream 1.012, juice 1.04, vinegar 1.006, sea water 1.025, whole blood 1.060. For most home cooks, the “1 cc = 1 g” shortcut is good enough for any watery liquid.
The exceptions are concentrated sugar solutions and salt brines. A 50 percent sugar syrup runs near 1.21 g/mL, and saturated brine near 1.20 g/mL. The density rises with dissolved solids, so dense soups and reduction sauces weigh more per cc than the same volume of broth.
CC to grams for oils and fuels
Cooking oils and petroleum fuels are lighter than water because their molecules are mostly carbon and hydrogen with no oxygen-rich packing. All edible oils sit near 0.92 g/mL (vegetable, olive, sunflower, rapeseed, coconut). Diesel is 0.84 g/mL, gasoline 0.737 g/mL, kerosene 0.81 g/mL. A 1-litre bottle of olive oil weighs 916 g and a 60-litre car tank of gasoline holds 44.2 kg.
CC to grams for syrups and honey
Honey, maple syrup, molasses, and corn syrup are denser than water because they are concentrated sugar solutions with very little free water. Honey at 1.42 g/mL is the densest liquid most kitchens see. 1 cup (236.6 cc) of honey weighs 336 g, against 240 g for the same cup of water. Maple syrup at 1.38 g/mL gives 326 g per cup.
Recipes that swap honey for sugar by volume always end up with more sweetener by mass, because honey is denser. To replace 200 g of sugar with honey, use 141 cc (about two thirds of a cup), not 240 cc.
CC to grams for medical and lab use
Medicine still labels syringes in cc. A 10 cc syringe of saline holds ≈10.05 g (0.9% saline density 1.0046 g/mL). A 5 cc dose of blood thinner is 5.3 g. For pediatric dosing the FDA has since 2011 required mL labelling on all over-the-counter liquid medicines and banned the “teaspoon” label, but the cc syringe persists in injectables and IV lines.
Chemistry labs prefer mL on glassware and grams on balances. Converting between the two relies on knowing the substance density to four significant figures, which is published in the NIST Chemistry WebBook and the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics for thousands of compounds.
Common cc to grams mistakes
The biggest mistake is treating cc and grams as equal for everything. The 1:1 ratio holds only for water. Even close-to-water liquids drift by 2 to 6 percent: milk is 2.7 percent heavier, juice 4 percent heavier, vinegar 0.6 percent heavier. Oils are 8 percent lighter. Honey is 42 percent heavier. Gasoline is 26 percent lighter.
cc is a volume (cubic centimeter). cm is a length. m³ is also a volume but a million times larger (1 m³ = 1,000,000 cc). Mislabelling the unit on a chemistry exam or a pharmacy prescription has caused real medication errors.
The second mistake is ignoring temperature. Most fluids lose density as they warm. Water drops from 1.000 g/mL at 4 °C to 0.971 g/mL at 80 °C. Cooking oils change about 0.07 percent per °C. For typical room-temperature kitchen work the change is negligible, but in industrial fuel storage the few percent volume swing matters and is corrected to 15 °C standard.
Water cc × 1.00Milk / juice cc × 1.04Cooking oil cc × 0.92Honey cc × 1.42Maple syrup cc × 1.38Ethanol 96% cc × 0.79Gasoline cc × 0.74Mercury cc × 13.55