When was the last time you heard someone refer to concrete as cement? The probability of this being a recent occurrence is pretty high.

1. CONCRETE AND CEMENT
Ernest Grotsky

2. INTRODUCTION
 When was the last time you heard someone refer to concrete as
cement? The probability of this being a recent occurrence is
pretty high.
Although they are often used interchangeably in normal
discourse, concrete and cement are really two different materials.
Cement is a powdery agent that is used to bind substances
together. It can be used independently or mixed with other
substances to prepare new materials.
Concrete is one such material. It is prepared by mixing aggregate
– which could be sand or rock—with water and cement in different
quantities. The proportion variations result in concrete of varying
thickness and quality. It’s the presence of aggregate that
distinguishes concrete from cement.

3. CONCRETE AND CEMENT
 Both concrete and cement have been used in
building since ancient times. These days, of
course, the mechanization of production
techniques has resulted in faster construction
times. Massive concrete mixers are routinely
used at work sites to combine these two basic
building blocks of modern construction.
About the author
Ernest Grotsky is past President of the
American Concrete Institute.