It is shown that the residual entropy (entropy minus that of the ideal gas at the same temperature and density) is mostly synonymous with the independent variable of density scaling, identifying a direct link between these two approaches. The residual entropy and the effective hardness of interaction (itself a derivative at constant residual entropy) are studied for the Lennard-Jones monomer and dimer as well as a range of rigid molecular models for carbon dioxide. It is observed that the density scaling exponent appears to be related to the two-body interactions in the dilute-gas limit.