But unlike most people it understands that even though an ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of feathers a pound of gold weighs less than a pound of feathers.
(To be fair this is partly an obscure knowledge question, the kind of thing that maybe we should expect GPT to be good at.)
None of this is about volume. ChatGPT: "An ounce of gold weighs more than an ounce of feathers because they are measured using different systems of measurement. Gold is usually weighed using the troy system, which is different from the system used for measuring feathers."
Gold uses Troy weights unless otherwise specified, while feathers use the normal system. The Troy ounce is heavier than the normal ounce, but the Troy pound is 12 Troy ounces, not 16.
Also, the Troy weights are a measure of mass, I think, not actual weight, so if you went to the moon, an ounce of gold would be lighter than an ounce of feathers.
Ounces can measure both volume and weight, depending on the context.
In this case, there's not enough context to tell, so the comment is total BS.
If they meant ounces (volume), then an ounce of gold would weigh more than an ounce of feathers, because gold is denser. If they meant ounces (weight), then an ounce of gold and an ounce of feathers weigh the same.
> Ounces can measure both volume and weight, depending on the context.
That's not really accurate and the rest of the comment shows it's meaningfully impacting your understanding of the problem. It's not that an ounce is one measure that covers volume and weight, it's that there are different measurements that have "ounce" in their name.
Avoirdupois ounce (oz) - A unit of mass in the Imperial and US customary systems, equal to 1/16 of a pound or approximately 28.3495 grams.
Troy ounce (oz t or ozt) - A unit of mass used for precious metals like gold and silver, equal to 1/12 of a troy pound or approximately 31.1035 grams.
Apothecaries' ounce (℥) - A unit of mass historically used in pharmacies, equal to 1/12 of an apothecaries' pound or approximately 31.1035 grams. It is the same as the troy ounce but used in a different context.
Fluid ounce (fl oz) - A unit of volume in the Imperial and US customary systems, used for measuring liquids. There are slight differences between the two systems:
a. Imperial fluid ounce - 1/20 of an Imperial pint or approximately 28.4131 milliliters.
b. US fluid ounce - 1/16 of a US pint or approximately 29.5735 milliliters.
An ounce of gold is heavier than an ounce of iridium, even though it's not as dense. This question isn't silly, this is actually a real problem. For example, you could be shipping some silver and think you can just sum the ounces and make sure you're under the weight limit. But the weight limit and silver are measured differently.
(To be fair this is partly an obscure knowledge question, the kind of thing that maybe we should expect GPT to be good at.)