This question may not have crossed your mind until now; but it is something to think about. The common person seems to use the two interchangeably. Even someone who frequently deals with the two may not know the difference. Is your sidewalk concrete or cement? Is the road made of concrete or cement? And a hydraulic dam?
In fact, each one of them is a trick question. The answer is both in all. The clear difference between concrete and cement is that cement is a component of concrete while concrete is the end result of a mixture of cement and some other components.
Cement
Cement is a mixture in itself. It is usually composed of limestone, clay, shells and sand. The set of ingredients is combined with iron ore and crushed at extreme temperatures to become cement. Temperatures hover around 1300°C. Cement looks similar to earth. An obvious distinction between cement and concrete is that cement is soft, while concrete is rock solid. .
Many people confuse concrete trucks with cement trucks. The rotating cylindrical container or "barrel" seen attached to the trucks actually contains concrete, rather than cement. These concrete trucks are often seen at the construction site with workers so they can place the concrete to build a parking lot or highway.
Concrete
Cement is mixed with gravel, sand, and water to create concrete. Those are the ingredients found inside the concrete truck. Typically, concrete is made up of 10-15% cement, 60-75% sand and gravel, and 15-20% water. The chemical reaction between cement and water is called hydration. The reaction forms the rock-hard material known as concrete. In fact, the hydration process continues for several years, resulting in a more resistant surface over time. For this reason, it is trusted that concrete can withstand enormous weights and great pressures without wearing down.
So, now you know. Even if you never put concrete yourself, at least you can prove your friend wrong when you point out a "cement truck" driving down the road. It is an all too common confusion; however, the difference between cement and concrete is really simple. You can have cement without concrete, but you can't have concrete without cement. Cement helps make concrete.
For any of your concrete needs, call Lueste. We provide ready-mix concrete for commercial and residential projects.
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