You’ve probably seen 5 or 10 pounds used as an estimate for the weight of various objects, but if you’re told that an item weighs 9 pounds, it can be harder to get a good feel for that weight.
Comparing 9 pounds to a few common household items, however, can help you better estimate just how heavy 9 pounds is.
- Bass guitar
- Nine cans of soda
- Three toasters
- Nine basketballs
- One gallon of juice or milk
- One 2×4 piece of wood
- A female cat
- Two laptops
- Three bags of apples
1. A Bass Guitar
Most acoustic guitars weigh between 2 and 6 pounds. Even heavier electric guitars, which have a solid body and metal components, usually weigh around 8 pounds. However, bass guitars are slightly larger and, therefore, slightly heavier.
Although some bass guitars, which are also electric, can weigh between 10 and 12 pounds, most only weigh about 9 pounds, making them an ideal way to estimate this weight.
Unlike a standard acoustic or electric guitar, which is used to supply the melody of a song, a bass guitar supports the rhythmic aspect of the song, helping everyone else in the band keep time and creating a tempo for people to dance to.
2. Nine Cans of Soda
Pretty much everyone has held a can of soda, so it’s a familiar object to use to compare weights to. It’s also ideal because one can of soda usually weighs almost exactly 1 pound.
The can must be full, and the exact weight of the can and soda can vary slightly depending on the type of soda, the size of the can, and how thick the can is. In general, though, you can say that nine cans of soda weigh about 9 pounds.
3. Three Toasters
Toasters are available in a wide range of sizes. The most common toasters toast two slices of bread at a time, but for families, toasters that can toast four slices at a time are also popular. Two-slice toasters are relatively compact, so they don’t weigh too much.
A standard two-slice toaster often weighs about 3 pounds, which means it weighs 1/3 of 9 pounds. You can also picture three small toasters to add up to around 9 pounds.
4. Nine Basketballs
Basketballs are relatively large, and the rough rubber they’re made of is thick and durable, so you might think that one basketball weighs at least a couple of pounds. Basketballs are full of air, though, so even though they feel quite solid, they’re actually relatively light.
One standard basketball should weigh about 1 pound. If you can picture a rack of nine basketballs, you can easily visualize 9 pounds.
5. One Gallon of Juice or Milk
The weight of juice or milk varies a bit depending on the density of the beverage, but for the most part, one gallon of either milk or fruit juice weighs around 9 pounds.
A gallon of water can also be used to estimate weights, but because it’s less dense than milk or juice, it’s also lighter, and it weighs around 8 pounds instead of 9.
Juice and milk are also often sold in containers that hold 2 quarts or half a gallon.
If you routinely purchase your drinks in half-gallon containers, you can just picture two of them to add up to 9 pounds, or you can think of one half-gallon container as weighing an amount equal to about half of 9 pounds.
6. One Two-by-Four Piece of Wood
Boards are often cut into pieces called 2 by 4s, which means they’re 2 inches thick and 4 inches wide. They’re usually about 8 feet long. These boards are lightweight and narrow, weighing only around 9 pounds, so they’re easy to carry.
Because of their thickness and small width, though, they’re quite durable, making them a key product for building projects.
7. A Female Cat
Cats can grow to different sizes and weights depending on their breed. Maine coon cats, for example, are much larger than standard domestic short or longhair cats. Most female cats, however, grow to weigh right around 9 pounds.
If you’ve ever held a healthy, fully grown female cat, you can probably imagine what 9 pounds feels like in your arms.
8. Two Laptops
Laptops can be purchased in various sizes. Some compact models are designed to be slim and extremely lightweight. Other models have steel frames, so they’re durable if you need to travel or use them in precarious situations, such as at a job site.
However, most laptops that are of average size weigh around 4.5 to 5 pounds give or take half a pound or so. This does not include the weight of the cord and battery pack.
Therefore, 2 average sized laptops would be very close to weighing 9 pounds.
9. Three Bags of Apples
Many produce items are sold by the bag. Onions, potatoes, and carrots, for example, are often sold in 1, 2, or 5-pound bags. Apples are also frequently sold by the bag, but unlike other fruits and vegetables, they’re often sold in 3-pound bags.
This means you would need three bags of apples to equal 9 pounds.
If you don’t have a 3 pound bag on hand, you can weigh each apple. There are around 9 medium sized apples in a 3 pound bag. Therefore 27 apples would equal close to 9 pounds.
