--- title: "Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? what 87 AI models think" slug: which-is-heavier-a-pound-of-feathers-or-a-pound-of-gold-what-87-ai-models-think url: https://listedarticles.com/articles/which-is-heavier-a-pound-of-feathers-or-a-pound-of-gold-what-87-ai-models-think canonical_url: https://studyarena.com/every-ai/pound-of-feathers-or-pound-of-gold content_type: blog_post language: en published_at: 2026-10-25T15:00:00.000Z updated_at: 2026-10-25T22:04:30.499Z author: "Pasha Rayan" author_url: https://studyarena.com/blog/authors/pasha-rayan authored_by: human publisher: "StudyArena" publisher_url: https://listedstartups.com/companies/studyarena topics: ["Data analysis", "We asked every AI", "Science", "AI", "Benchmarks", "Education", "Learning"] about: ["https://listedstartups.com/products/studyarena-platform"] license: all-rights-reserved word_count: 2629 reading_minutes: 11 citation: "Pasha Rayan, StudyArena. \"Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? what 87 AI models think.\" 25 Oct 2026. https://studyarena.com/every-ai/pound-of-feathers-or-pound-of-gold (all-rights-reserved)" # The full text follows. The web page shows an extract and sends readers # to the source above; quote the citation and link the canonical URL. --- # Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? what 87 AI models think > We asked 87 AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek…) the same question. The answer was Feathers; 35 got it right. See every answer and who dissented. [← We asked every AI](/every-ai)Settled · 87/87 models ![Illustration for "Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?"](https://studyarena.com/every-ai/pound-of-feathers-or-pound-of-gold/cover) Hot takeScience # Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? Asked verbatim: “Which is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? Choose one.” ## How the AIs voted One dot per model. Hover for the model, its lab and its argument. 40%Feathers PU 35 models 15%Gold 13 models 45%They weigh the same 39 models By lab * OpenAI5 / 8 They weigh the same * Google2 / 7 They weigh the same * Anthropic1 / 5 They weigh the same * Meta3 / 5 They weigh the same * Qwen1 / 5 They weigh the same * xAI2 / 5 They weigh the same * 22 other labs25 / 52 They weigh the same 87 of 87 models have voted. Hover a dot for the model, its lab and its argument. ## How the consensus formed Running share as each of the 87 models answered. The read Most of the 78 models split between "they weigh the same" (~35) and "feathers" (~30) via the troy-vs-avoirdupois trick, with a handful (like GPT-5.6 Sol and Parallel Speed) oddly flipping the logic to pick gold as heavier. Aion-RP 1.0 stood out, arguing gold is heavier simply because it's denser. Written by claude-sonnet-5 after reading every answer. ## Every answer 87 answers · in the order they came in · unedited apart from length. 1. Mercury 2.5Inception They weigh the same95% Both are exactly one pound by definition; the riddle tricks you with density and volume, not weight. Wrong 2. Grok 4.5 (High Reasoning)xAI Feathers85% Gold uses lighter troy pounds (373g) while feathers use heavier avoirdupois pounds (454g), so the feathers win on actual mass. Right 3. GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI Gold92% Gold uses the 12-ounce troy pound, while feathers use the 16-ounce avoirdupois pound, so a pound of gold is lighter. Wrong 4. Laguna XS 2.1Poolside They weigh the same95% A pound is a pound regardless of material—they're equal, though gold uses troy pounds while feathers use avoirdupois, but the question implies the same pound system. Wrong 5. Nova 2 LiteAmazon They weigh the same100% Both are one pound, so they have identical mass. Wrong 6. Nemotron 3 SuperNVIDIA They weigh the same100% Both weigh one pound by definition; gold is denser, not heavier. Wrong 7. Sonar ProPerplexity Feathers95% A troy pound of gold is lighter than an avoirdupois pound used for feathers, so the feathers come out heavier. Right 8. Parallel SpeedParallel Gold100% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois pounds, whereas gold is measured in troy pounds, making a pound of gold heavier. Wrong 9. Llama 4 MaverickMeta They weigh the same100% Both are defined as weighing one pound, making their weights equal by definition. Wrong 10. Mistral Small 3Mistral They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, regardless of the material. Wrong 11. GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI Gold92% A pound of gold traditionally means a lighter troy pound, while feathers use the heavier avoirdupois pound. Wrong 12. Granite 4.2 8BIBM They weigh the same100% A pound is a fixed unit of weight; feathers and gold each weigh exactly one pound under the same conditions. Wrong 13. DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek Feathers72% Both are 1 lb, but a pound of gold is troy (373g) while feathers use avoirdupois (454g) — so feathers are 22% heavier. Right 14. Nemotron 3 Nano 30BNVIDIA They weigh the same95% A pound of feathers and a pound of gold each equal one pound, so they have identical mass. Wrong 15. Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview (High Reasoning)Google Feathers100% Gold is measured in troy pounds (373g) while feathers use standard avoirdupois pounds (454g), making the feathers actually heavier. Right 16. Qwen3.8 FlashQwen Feathers88% "Pound of gold" means the troy pound — 5,760 grains — while a pound of feathers is the avoirdupois 7,000 grains, so the feathers are about 21% heavier. Right 17. Kimi K3Moonshot They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound. While gold is much denser than feathers, one pound of any substance is exactly equal in weight to one pound of any other. Wrong 18. Claude Fable 5.1 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic Feathers85% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373 g), feathers in avoirdupois pounds (454 g) — so the feathers actually outweigh the gold by about 80 grams. Right 19. Ling 3.0 FlashInclusionAI Gold95% Gold is measured in troy pounds (≈373 g) while feathers use avoirdupois pounds (≈454 g), so a pound of feathers is actually heavier. Wrong 20. Nova LiteAmazon They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, regardless of material. Wrong 21. Laguna S 2.1Poolside Gold90% A troy pound of gold (373g) is heavier than an avoirdupois pound of feathers (454g), so the unit "pound" differs by material. Wrong 22. Solar Pro 4Upstage Gold85% Gold uses the troy pound (12–13 oz vs 16 oz for feathers), so a pound of gold actually outweighs a pound of feathers. Wrong 23. MiMo V2.5Xiaomi They weigh the same100% A pound is a unit of weight; a pound of anything equals a pound of anything else. Wrong 24. Hy4 PreviewTencent They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound — but with a twist: gold uses troy pounds (373 g), feather pounds are avoirdupois (454 g), so a pound of feathers actually outweighs a pound of gold. Wrong 25. Seed 2.0 MiniByteDance They weigh the same100% Both are explicitly described as weighing one pound, so their masses and weights are identical regardless of the material. Wrong 26. GLM-4.7Z.AI They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, period—any riddle tricking you otherwise plays units, not mass. Wrong 27. InklingThinking Machines Feathers RightSearched 28. Llama 4 ScoutMeta They weigh the same100% Both are one pound, so they weigh the same. Wrong 29. Muse Glimmer 30B (Low Reasoning)Meta They weigh the same100% A pound is a unit of mass, so a pound of feathers and a pound of gold both weigh exactly one pound. Wrong 30. Parallel LiteParallel Feathers100% A pound of feathers is measured in avoirdupois weight (approx. 453.6 grams), whereas a pound of gold is measured in troy weight (12 troy ounces, approx. 373.2 grams). Right 31. Aion 2.0 (Reasoning)Aion Labs Feathers100% A pound of feathers uses avoirdupois weight (16 oz), while a pound of gold uses troy weight (12 oz), making feathers heavier. Right 32. Granite 4.0 MicroIBM Gold100% A pound is a pound regardless of material; both have exactly 1 lb mass. Wrong 33. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)Google They weigh the same100% Feathers are measured in avoirdupois pounds and gold in troy pounds, but a pound is a pound of force. Wrong 34. SonarPerplexity They weigh the same99% A pound is a pound, so both options have the same weight. Wrong 35. Aion 3.0 (Reasoning)Aion Labs Feathers95% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373g), feathers in avoirdupois pounds (454g)—so the feathers are genuinely heavier. Right 36. Nemotron 3.5 LightningNVIDIA They weigh the same95% A pound is a unit of weight, so both are exactly equal regardless of material. Wrong 37. GLM-5.2Z.AI Feathers92% A pound is a pound—but the classic riddle's trick is that gold is weighed in troy, so an avoirdupois pound of feathers is heavier than a troy pound of gold. Right 38. GLM-4.7 FlashZ.AI Feathers100% A pound is a pound, so by definition they weigh exactly the same. Right 39. Mistral Medium 3.5Mistral They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, regardless of material. Wrong 40. DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek Feathers88% A troy pound of gold is only 373 g while an avoirdupois pound of feathers is 454 g — feathers win by 81 grams. Right 41. Solar Pro 3Upstage They weigh the same100% Both are defined as exactly 1 pound, so they have identical mass. Wrong 42. MiniMax M2.5 (Reasoning)MiniMax They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound regardless of material—both weigh exactly one pound. Wrong 43. LongCat 2.0Meituan Gold100% A pound of feathers is 16 avoirdupois ounces, but a pound of gold is only 12 troy ounces — so gold wins. Wrong 44. Mistral Medium 3.1Mistral They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, regardless of material. Wrong 45. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite (Minimal Reasoning)Google They weigh the same100% Both equal exactly one pound by definition, regardless of the material's density or volume. Wrong 46. Claude Opus 5 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic Feathers78% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373g), feathers in avoirdupois (454g) — so a pound of feathers actually outweighs a pound of gold. Right 47. gpt-oss-20b (Low Reasoning)OpenAI They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, regardless of material. Wrong 48. GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, whether it’s made of fluffy feathers or dense gold. Wrong 49. Sabiá 4Maritaca AI They weigh the same100% A pound is a unit of mass, so a pound of anything equals a pound of anything else. Wrong 50. Gemini 3.8 Flash (Medium Reasoning)Google Feathers95% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois pounds (7,000 grains), while gold is measured in troy pounds (5,760 grains). Right 51. Seed 2.1 TurboByteDance They weigh the same100% Both are one pound — same unit, same mass, the "troy ounce" gotcha is a distractor since the question says pound, not ounce. Wrong 52. GLM-5.3 (Low Reasoning)Z.AI Feathers92% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373g), feathers in avoirdupois (454g) — so the feathers tip the scale. Right 53. Qwen3.8 Max 0902 (Minimal Reasoning)Qwen Feathers88% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois (453.6 g), but gold is weighed in troy pounds — only 373.2 g — so the feathers win by about 80 grams. Right 54. Gemini 3.6 Flash (Medium Reasoning)Google Feathers95% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois pounds (453.6g) while gold is measured in troy pounds (373.2g), making the pound of feathers heavier. Right 55. Gemma 4 31BGoogle Feathers100% Gold is measured in troy ounces (12 to a pound), making a pound of gold (373g) lighter than a standard avoirdupois pound of feathers (453g). Right 56. gpt-oss-120b (Low Reasoning)OpenAI They weigh the same100% A pound measures weight, so one pound of any substance, feathers or gold, is identical in weight. Wrong 57. Claude Sonnet 5 (Low Reasoning)Anthropic Feathers92% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373g) while feathers use avoirdupois pounds (454g), so the feathers actually win. Right 58. Aion 3.0 Mini (Reasoning)Aion Labs Feathers95% A pound of feathers uses avoirdupois weight (16 oz), while a pound of gold uses troy weight (12 oz), so feathers are heavier. Right 59. Grok 4.3xAI They weigh the same100% A pound is always 0.453592 kg, regardless of material. Wrong 60. Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B (Minimal Reasoning)Qwen Feathers85% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373 g) while feathers use avoirdupois pounds (454 g), so the feathers win by about 80 grams. Right 61. Inkling SmallThinking Machines Gold65% A "pound" of gold is usually troy (1.22 lb av), so gold is heavier. Wrong 62. Aion-RP 1.0 (8B)Aion Labs Gold100% Gold is a dense material, with a mass per unit volume that is nearly 19 times greater than that of feathers. A pound of gold would therefore be physically smaller than a pound of feathers. Since the two objects would have different sizes, they cannot be said to weigh the same. Wrong 63. MiniMax M3MiniMax They weigh the same99% A pound is a pound — same mass either way, regardless of what it's made of. Wrong 64. Sabiazinho 4Maritaca AI They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, but gold uses the troy system where a pound is lighter; in standard avoirdupois, they're equal. But by the question's wording, both are one pound. Wrong 65. DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813DeepSeek Gold95% Gold is weighed in troy units — a troy pound is 373 grams, lighter than an avoirdupois pound's 454 grams, so equal mass feathers actually outweigh it. Wrong 66. Muse Spark 1.2 (Minimal Reasoning)Meta Feathers82% A pound of gold is a troy pound (12oz/373g) while feathers use avoirdupois (16oz/454g), so feathers are heavier. Right 67. MiMo V2.5 ProXiaomi They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound — both equal 453.59 grams, period. Wrong 68. Claude Haiku 4.5Anthropic They weigh the same100% A pound is a unit of mass. One pound of feathers and one pound of gold both weigh exactly one pound by definition. Wrong 69. Parallel BaseParallel Feathers100% Feathers are measured in avoirdupois pounds (454g), while gold is measured in troy pounds (373g), so feathers maximize total mass and overall utility. Right 70. Kimi K2.6Moonshot Feathers100% A pound of feathers is heavier because gold uses the troy pound (12 oz / 373g), while feathers use the avoirdupois pound (16 oz / 454g). Right 71. Nemotron 3 UltraNVIDIA Gold95% Gold uses troy pounds (373g) while feathers use avoirdupois pounds (454g), so a pound of feathers is heavier. Wrong 72. Sonar Reasoning ProPerplexity Feathers95% Gold uses a lighter troy pound while feathers use a heavier avoirdupois pound, so a pound of feathers actually outweighs a pound of gold. Right 73. GPT-6 Astra (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI They weigh the same98% A pound is a pound unless you explicitly switch units; gold’s density changes the volume, not the weight. Wrong 74. Grok 4.6 (High Reasoning)xAI Feathers82% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373 g); feathers in avoirdupois (454 g)—so a “pound” of feathers is actually heavier. Right 75. Qwen3.7 FlashQwen Gold95% A pound of gold is measured in Troy pounds (approx. 12 oz), while feathers are measured in Avoirdupois pounds (16 oz). The Troy pound is lighter, so the "pound" of gold weighs less than a standard pound of feathers. Wrong 76. Grok 4.20xAI They weigh the same90% Both are exactly one pound; the classic riddle tricks you with troy vs avoirdupois but the question specifies "a pound" of each. Wrong 77. Qwen3.8 27BQwen They weigh the same100% Both are exactly one pound — same weight, different density, so the gold just takes up less space and the trick dies there. Wrong 78. GLM-5.3 Flash (Max Reasoning)Z.AI Feathers92% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (373 g) while feathers use avoirdupois pounds (454 g), so the feather pound genuinely tips the scale. Right 79. PUUnion AlphaUndisclosed maker Feathers95% Gold is sold in troy pounds (373 g), feathers in avoirdupois pounds (454 g) — so a "pound" of gold is about 80 g lighter. Right 80. MiMo V2.6 FlashXiaomi Feathers85% A pound is a pound, but gold uses the troy pound (12 oz) while feathers use avoirdupois (16 oz)—so a pound of feathers is heavier. Right 81. MiMo V2.6 ProXiaomi They weigh the same97% A pound is a pound — though gold is measured in troy pounds (12 oz), so purists say feathers, the trick answer is that both equal one pound. Wrong 82. Claude Opus 5.5 (High Reasoning)Anthropic Feathers70% Gold is weighed in troy pounds (about 373 g), while feathers use the standard avoirdupois pound (about 454 g), so the feathers win. Right 83. GPT-6 Luna (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI They weigh the same100% A pound is a pound, whether it’s feathers or gold. Wrong 84. Grok 4.7 (High Reasoning)xAI Feathers82% Gold’s “pound” is troy (12 oz, 373 g); feathers use the everyday avoirdupois pound (16 oz, 454 g)—so the feathers are heavier. Right 85. GPT-6 Sol (Medium Reasoning)OpenAI Feathers85% Gold is traditionally measured in troy pounds, which are lighter than the everyday pounds used for feathers. Right 86. Gemini 4 Argon (Medium Reasoning)Google Feathers99% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois pounds (453.59 grams) while precious metals like gold are weighed in troy pounds (373.24 grams), making a pound of feathers heavier by over 80 grams. Right 87. Muse Wonder (Medium Reasoning)Meta Feathers92% Feathers are weighed in avoirdupois pounds (7,000 grains) while gold uses troy pounds (5,760 grains), so the feathers are heavier. Right AI consensus 45% They weigh the same 39 of 87 models Models : 87 Labs : 28 Searched : 1 [Share on X](https://x.com/intent/post?text=45%25%20of%2087%20AI%20models%20say%20They%20weigh%20the%20same.%20Which%20is%20heavier%3A%20a%20pound%20of%20feathers%20or%20a%20pound%20of%20gold%3F%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fstudyarena.com%2Fevery-ai%2Fpound-of-feathers-or-pound-of-gold%3Futm_source%3Dshare%26utm_medium%3Dx%26utm_campaign%3Devery_ai_page) Settled · what actually happened Feathers 35 of 87 AIs got it right. ## Disagree with the robots? Put this question to a few of these models at once and crown the answer you like best. [Run it in the arena](/?q=Which%20is%20heavier%3A%20a%20pound%20of%20feathers%20or%20a%20pound%20of%20gold%3F%20Choose%20one.&go=1) Answers are generated by the models themselves. Predictions are for fun, not betting advice. Team, league and lab names identify the question and the model; no affiliation is implied.