Although used for different applications, gold and lead are classified as heavy metals. Gold is used extensively in the jewelry industry whereas lead is used in car batteries, pigments, ammunition, weights for lifting, and others.

Although both gold and lead are heavy metals, they have different properties and attributes. They differ from each other in many aspects, for instance, density, weight, and scope of application.

Owing to the extensive use of these metals in everyday life, many people want to know more about them and what sets them apart.

One thing that distinguishes them from each other is their weight. Let’s answer a significantly debated query, is gold heavier than lead?

Is Gold Heavier Than Lead?

Which is heavier gold or lead? Gold is heavier and denser than lead. Albeit heaviness is not a measurable quantity, however, density has a vital impact on the heaviness of an object.

Similarly, gold and lead have different densities, by comparison, lead is less dense than gold.

The atomic weight of the lead is greater than the gold, however, gold atoms are more closely packed together than the lead atoms. Similar to the gold vs silver weight, the heaviness is due to a higher density.

Gold is one of the densest substances on earth, however, there are many other substances with far greater densities.

For instance, the core of our sun has a calculated density of 115 times that of water, almost 6 times greater than gold.

Coming to the subject matter, gold is considerably heavier than iron despite the fact that lead has a higher atomic weight.

Densities of Gold and Lead

As mentioned above, both gold and lead have different densities. The density of different substances is relative to water, the water has 1 g/cc of density and weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon.

In comparison, the density of gold is 19.3 times greater than water and weighs 160 pounds per gallon.

In contrast, lead has a density of 11.34g/cc, therefore, the given volume of gold is heavier than the same volume of lead.

Gold is quite heavier than lead and remarkably dense, nearly twice as much as lead.

It is easy to understand the weight difference between gold and lead when looking at their densities.

Interestingly enough, although gold has a higher density, lead leads the race for atomic weight. However, density contributes significantly to making gold heavier than lead.

Gold vs Lead Weight

As it is perfectly clear by now which metal is heavier between the two, it would be interesting to know about the atomic weight of these two metals.

Each individual lead atom is heavier than the gold because they have a greater mass per atom.

The atomic number of lead and gold is 87 and 79 respectively which means that lead has more protons and neutrons in the nucleus than gold.

Moreover, the mass of a gold atom is 197 atomic mass units and that of a lead atom is 207 atomic mass units.

There is a considerable difference between the atomic weight of these metals. Additionally, they share a similar face-centered cubic crystal structure, however, the lattice parameter (about spaces between atoms) is larger than gold.

It makes the lead atoms more massive but less dense. On the contrary, gold atoms are closely packed and have a greater mass density. Gold has more weight than silver even.

Understanding Density

Density measures how tightly matter is packed within a given space. For example, gold and lead have the same volume but gold feels much heavier because its atoms are denser.

Key Differences in Gold and Lead Density

• Gold has a density of 19.3 g/cm3 while lead is 11.3 g/cm3.
• Gold crams nearly twice as much “stuff” per cubic cm as lead.
• This density difference affects their weight and applications.

Impact of Density

• Weight for volume – Higher density means more weight for the same volume. This allows a tiny gold ring to feel heavier than a much larger lead weight.
• Practical uses – Gold’s density makes it ideal for jewelry. Lead’s density makes it useful for counterweights and radiation shielding.
• Understanding materials – Density helps predict behavior of materials in physics, chemistry, geology, engineering, etc.

Conclusion

To sum up, gold is known for its malleability and high density which makes it heavier than most metals, including lead. Although lead leaves behind the gold in atomic weight, gold is superior to lead in terms of density and heaviness.