Mass and Weight are the measuring quantities routinely used in everyday speech. Mass is the amount of matter in a material, whereas weight is a measure of how the force of gravity works on that mass. Mass is a scalar quantity and weight a vector quantity. Unit of mass and weight are kilogram and Newton respectively.
Mass
The amount of matter in a body is measured in mass. The letters m or M stand for mass.
Weight
The amount of force acting on a mass due to gravity’s acceleration is measured by weight. W is the most common abbreviation for weight.
Weight is defined as mass multiplied by gravity’s acceleration (g).
- W=mg
Mass and Weight Comparison
When comparing mass and weight on Earth—without moving!—the values for mass and weight are, for the most part, the same. If you change your position about gravity, your mass will stay the same, but your weight will not. Your body’s mass, for example, is a constant, but your weight on the Moon differs from that on Earth.
Mass is a property of matter. The mass of a body is constant everywhere. The effect of gravity has an impact on weight. With the higher or lower gravity, weight increases or decreases.
Comparison
| There can never be zero mass. | When there is no gravity acting on an item, such as in space, weight can be zero. |
|---|---|
| The mass of an object does not change with its position. | The weight of a person changes depending on where they live. |
| Mass is a scalar quantity. | The term “weight” refers to a vector quantity. It has a large size and is aimed at the Earth’s core or another gravity well. |
| A simple balance can be used to determine mass. | . A spring balance is used to determine weight. |
| The most common units of mass measurement are grams and kilograms. | Weight is frequently expressed in newtons, which is a unit of force. |
On Other Planets, How Much Do You Weigh?
While a person’s mass remains constant across the solar system, their acceleration and weight change considerably. Gravity on other bodies, like Earth, is calculated not just by mass but also by how distant the “surface” is from the center of gravity.
On Earth, your weight is slightly lower on a mountain peak than it is at sea level, for example. For huge giants like Jupiter, the effect is considerably more significant. While Jupiter’s gravity is 316 times greater than Earth’s due to its mass, you wouldn’t weigh 316 times heavier because its “surface” (or what we call the cloud level) is so far out from the center.
Other celestial bodies have different gravity ratings than the Earth. Simply multiply your weight by the relevant quantity to get your weight.
As an example
Other celestial bodies have different gravity ratings than the Earth. Simply multiply your weight by the relevant quantity to get your weight. A 150-pound human, for example, would weigh 396 pounds on Jupiter, which is 2.64 times their weight on Earth.
| Body | Multiple of Earth Gravity | Surface Gravity (m/s 2**)** |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | 27.90 | 274.1 |
| Mercury | 0.3770 | 3.703 |
| Venus | 0.9032 | 8.872 |
| Earth | 1 (defined) | 9.8226 |
| Moon | 0.165 | 1.625 |
| Mars | 0.3895 | 3.728 |
| Jupiter | 2.640 | 25.93 |
| Saturn | 1.139 | 11.19 |
| Uranus | 0.917 | 9.01 |
| Neptune | 1.148 | 11.28 |
On other planets, your weight can surprise you. Because Venus is the same size and mass as Earth, it seems logical that a person would weigh about the same as Venus. However, it may appear strange that you would weigh less on Uranus, the gas giant.
On Saturn or Neptune, your weight would be slightly higher. Even though Mercury is significantly smaller than Mars, you would weigh about the same. Even though the Sun is significantly larger than any other body, you’d only weigh roughly 28 times more.
Of course, the massive heat and other radiation on the Sun would kill you, but even if it were cool, the intense gravity on a planet that large would be fatal.
Summary
Mass is a scalar quantity. The effect of gravity has an impact on weight - with higher or lower gravity, weight increases or decreases. Weight is frequently expressed in newtons, which is a unit of the force of a body. An ordinary balance can be used to determine mass. On Earth, your weight is slightly lower on a mountain peak than it is at sea level.
What is the formula for finding one’s weight?
The formula for a body with a mass of m and a weight of magnitude w is w = mg.
As a result, the mass of an object is precisely proportional to its weight.
What is the definition of weightlessness?
Have you ever ridden in a lift? Have you ever noticed how your weight seems to decrease as the elevator descends? That’s because the weight you feel is the “effective weight,” or the equal and opposite force the floor exerts on you as a result of your weight.
Now, if we remove the floor and let you fall freely, there will be no force exerted on you, and you will feel weightless despite the acceleration caused by gravity and mass.
This is because the effective weight is zero. Let’s return to our elevator. As the elevator descends, it moves in the direction of gravity, reducing net acceleration due to gravity and, as a result, lowering your weight.
The same thing happens to astronauts in the international space station: as the space station orbits the earth, it is falling inexorably towards the ground, and everything inside it, including the astronauts, is falling as well, so the astronauts feel weightless and can float around freely.
The most important point to remember in any of these cases is that weight can grow or decrease based on gravity’s acceleration, but the mass remains constant.
Mass measurements
The mass of an object can be determined in a variety of ways.
Unlike relational characteristics like location, velocity, or potential energy, which must always be specified about another item or a reference point, mass is an intrinsic property of an object that exists regardless of its relationship to other objects.
The mass of an object can be determined in a variety of ways:
1. (m=V) mass=density × volume
Because density is a measure of mass per unit of volume, multiplying density by volume yields the mass of an object.
2. (m=F/a) mass=force /acceleration
The acceleration of an item is directly proportional to the force applied to it, according to Newton’s second law (F=ma). As a result, the amount of acceleration experienced when a constant force is applied is inversely proportional to the mass.
3. Gravitational acceleration (m=W/g) is equal to mass times weight.
The product of mass acceleration in a gravitational environment is weight. The weight will vary depending on the strength of gravitational acceleration.
All three of these formulae are used to calculate an object’s mass. Because mass is a fundamental attribute, unlike the joule (J) and newton (N), it is not defined in terms of other units. There are more formulas for calculating an object’s mass, but these three are the most frequent.
1. m=ρV
2. m=W/g
3. m=F/a
Summary
Gravity’s acceleration has been calculated to be 9.8 m/sec2 for free-falling objects on Earth. Free falling simply means that no other forces are acting on the object save gravity - any influence of wind resistance, for example, would be ignored.
Gravitational acceleration (m=W/g) is equal to mass times weight. Mass is a fundamental attribute, unlike the joule (J) or newton (N) It is not defined in terms of other units, such as J or N.
Mass Measurement Units
These are basic units of mass measurement:
-
The kilograms are the accepted SI unit of mass (Kg). The kilograms is the only SI base unit with a name prefix (kilo-).
-
The mass of one cubic deciliter (dl) of water at its melting point was originally described as one kilogram.
The kilogram was redefined in 1889 as the mass of the International Kilogram Prototype (IPK), a physical artifact intended to serve as the kilogram’s worldwide reference mass. The IPK was originally designed as a cast-iron weight.
The accepted IPK at the moment is a 39 mm tall cylinder constructed of a specific platinum alloy. The kilogram is the only SI unit with a physical thing as its reference value as of 2018. The speed of light and the Planck constant has been used to redefine all other SI units.
The General Conference of Weights and Measures (GCPM) voted in November 2018 to redefine the kilogram in terms of fundamental physical constants, which will go into effect on May 20, 2019.
Methods For Determining Mass From Density And Volume
Density
The density of an object is a measure of mass per unit volume that is frequently symbolized by the Greek letter “.” Density is a measurement of how closely an object’s mass is packed. The more mass per unit of volume an object has, the denser it is.
At typical temperatures and pressures, water, for example, has a density of 977 kg/m3. That is, one cubic meter of water weighs 977 kilograms. We can calculate a material’s mass if we know the density and volume of that substance. Let’s say we have a 0.7m3 water sample.
What is the mass of that sample?
When we solve for mass, we get:
m=ρV
683 kg = (0.7m3)(977kg/m3)
At standard temperature and pressure, 0.5 cubic meters of water has a mass of 683 kilograms.
Some things are quite dense.
m=V m=(0.7m3)(977kg/m3) = 683 kg m=V m=(0.7m3)(977kg/m3)
At standard temperature and pressure, 0.5 cubic meters of water would weigh 683 kilograms.
Some items have a tremendous amount of density. The average density of a neutron star is 1.1 x 1018 kg/m3, for example. On Earth, a single teaspoon of a neutron star would be 100 million tons.
“Mass becomes static; it is unable to maneuver and so win battles; it can only crush by sheer weight.” — From Force And Acceleration by Hans Von Seeckt.
The property of mass can also be defined as the resistance of a physical object to being accelerated by an external force. Inertial mass is a term used to describe the concept of mass. Because inertia is the tendency of a moving body to stay in a constant state of motion, inertial mass is a measurement of how much inertia a body has.
Inertial mass
Inertial mass is a term used to describe this type of mass. Because inertia refers to a moving body’s tendency to maintain a steady-state of motion, inertial mass is a measurement of how much inertia a body has and how difficult it is to change its state of motion.
Newton’s second law of motion F=ma expresses the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration. A more substantial body will accelerate more slowly in the face of a constant force, according to this mathematical connection. We can calculate the mass of a body by measuring the force applied to it and the observed acceleration.
Consider the case where a metal cube is subjected to a 748 N force and its acceleration is measured at 21m/s2. What is the metal cube’s mass? What is the metal cube’s mass?
By dividing the size of the force by the magnitude of acceleration, we may compute the mass:
m=F/a
35.62 kg m=(748N)/(21m/s2)
As a result, we know that the metal cube must weigh 35.62 kg.
From the standpoint of weight
The terms “weight” and “mass” are not interchangeable. Although the terms “weight” and “mass” are interchangeable in English, they have different meanings in the physical sciences. The mass of an object is an invariant attribute that does not change with its position.
The gravitational field strength acting on a big body is measured by weight. The weight of an object might vary depending on the gravitational field strength, for example, the Moon has a weaker gravitational field than the Earth.
Summary
The density of an object is a measure of mass per unit volume. Water, for example, has a density of 977 kg/m3 - that is, one cubic meter of water weighs 977 kilograms. It can also be defined as the resistance of a physical object to being accelerated by force. Inertial mass is the tendency of a moving body to stay in a constant state of motion.
The Weight-Mass Relationship
Consider a body with a large mass and weight. A huge object that is difficult to throw because of its weight is an example of this problem.
As a result, Newton’s second law, which states that a freely falling object has an acceleration “g” as the magnitude, may be used to deduce the relationship between weight and mass.
The magnitude of the force is provided as:
If an item with a mass of 1 kg falls with an acceleration of 9.8 m.s-2, the magnitude of the force is given as:
-
F=ma
-
F= (1 kilogram) (9.8m.s-2)
-
=9.8kgms-2
-
=9.8N
-
As a result, the relationship between the weight and mass of an object having a mass of 1kg yields a weight of 9.8N.
What is Force?
A force is an external agent capable of altering a body’s condition of rest or motion. There is a magnitude and a direction to it. The force’s direction is known as the force’s direction, and the location where force is applied is known as the point where force is applied.
A spring balance can be used to determine the force. Newton is the SI unit of force (N).
Common symbols:
- F→, F
SI unit:
In SI base units:
- kg· m/s2
Other units:
- dyne, poundal, pound-force, kip, kilo pond
Derivations from other quantities:
- F = m a
Dimension:
- LMT-2
What are the Consequences of Using Force?
Motion is defined in physics as a change in location concerning time. Motion, to put it another way, is the movement of a body.
Typically, motion can be defined in one of two ways:
-
Variation in speed
-
A shift in perspective
The Force has a variety of impacts, which are listed below.
-
Even if a body is at rest, the force can cause it to move.
-
It can either stop or slow down a moving body.
-
It can increase the speed.
-
It can also modify the direction, as well as the shape, of a moving body.
What are some examples of different forces?
There are two sorts of forces in general:
1. Forces that do not make contact
2. Contact forces
What are some examples of the concept of force?
Here are some examples of force:
1. The force of gravity
2. The force of electricity
3. The force of attraction
4. Nuclear weapons are powerful weapons.
5. Force of friction
Summary
There are two types of forces in general - contact and non-contact forces. Force can either stop or slow down a moving body. It can also modify the direction, as well as the shape, of a moving human body. The Force has a variety of impacts, which are listed below.
Mass and Inertia
“An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force,” Newton’s first law of motion states. Objects tend to “continue doing what they’re doing.”
It is, in reality, an object’s intrinsic tendency to resist changes in its state of motion. Inertia is the tendency for objects to resist changes in their state of motion.
Newton’s concept of inertia was opposed to conventional notions about motion. Before Newton’s time, the prevalent belief was that objects have a natural propensity to come to a resting posture. Moving items, it was thought, would eventually stop moving; to keep an object moving, a force was required.
A moving object, on the other hand, would eventually come to rest if left to its own devices, and an object at rest would remain at rest; consequently, the belief that dominated people’s minds for about 2000 years before Newton was that it was the natural propensity of all objects to assume a rest position.
The Mass of a Body as a Measure of Its Inertia
Changes in the state of motion are resisted by all objects. Inertia is a property that all objects have. Is it true, however, that certain item are more resistant to change than others? Yes, absolutely! With increasing mass, an object’s ability to resist changes in its state of motion increases.
Mass is the quantity that is solely determined by an object’s inertia. The more an object’s inertia, the greater it’s mass. A more large item will withstand changes in its state of motion more effectively.
Suppose there are two bricks on the physics lecture table that appear to be identical. One brick is made of mortar, while the other is made of Styrofoam. How could you identify which brick was the Styrofoam brick without lifting the bricks?
To modify the state of motion of the bricks, you might give them the same push. The brick with the least inertia - and thus the least mass - is the one that provides the least resistance (i.e., the Styrofoam brick).
The notion that the more large an item is, the more resistant it is to changes in its state of motion is used in many physics demonstrations. Several large volumes are stacked on top of a teacher’s head in this demonstration. On top of the board, a wooden board is installed.
A wooden board is placed on top of the books, and a nail is driven into the board with a hammer. The force of the hammer is sufficiently withstood due to the huge mass of the books (inertia). The fact that the teacher is unaffected by the hammer impact demonstrates this.
(Of course, this narrative might account for many of your previous observations about your “strange physics teacher.”) Breaking a brick over the teacher’s hand with a rapid stroke of a hammer is a frequent variation of this demonstration. The force is resisted by the large bricks, and the hand is not injured.
Newton’s Laws: Mass, Weight, and Gravity
We’ve all seen pictures of men walking on the moon. Even though the astronauts are wearing extremely hefty suits, they appear to bounce across the moon’s surface with minimal effort.
How come we can bounce around on the moon with ease while it takes a lot of work to jump here on Earth? The difference between mass and weight holds the answer to this question.
Weight is a measure of the force of gravity on an object, whereas mass is a measure of how much stuff it contains. Regardless of its location, an object has the same composition and so mass.
For example, a human weighing 70 kg on Earth also weighs 70 kg in space and on the moon. The weight of that same person, however, is not the same.
However, because gravity is different in these areas, that same person’s weight is not the same. Because the moon has less gravity, humans will weigh less on the moon. We must first analyze gravity and its effect on objects to better understand the ideas of weight and mass.
What exactly is Gravity?
So, what exactly is gravity? Gravity is the attraction force that attracts two mass objects together. The gravitational force is directly proportional to the mass of any item. In other words, the greater the gravitational pull between the items, the greater the gravitational attraction between them.
Because the Earth’s mass is higher, the gravitational pull you feel on Earth is much stronger than it would be on the moon. An object with twice the mass will have twice the gravitational attraction on other objects.
The object of a Greater Size Gravity is stronger.
The strength of gravity, on the other hand, is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between two objects. For example, if the distance between two objects doubles, the gravitational pull between them reduces by a factor of four.
This is because 2 squared equals 4. This suggests that the gravitational attraction is influenced more by distance than by the masses of the objects.
Summary
Inertia is the tendency for objects to resist changes in their state of motion. Mass is the quantity that is solely determined by an object’s inertia. The more mass an object has, the more resistance it has to changes in its state of movement.
Newton’s Inertia was opposed to conventional notions about motion. Inertia is the huge mass of books (inertia) that repels the force of a hammer.
The Force of Gravity
Gravity is a physical force. A force is essentially a push or a pull that objects experience when they interact. In the case of gravity, the interaction can be direct or at a distance.
Newton’s laws state that if an unbalanced force occurs on an item, the object’s state of motion will change. To put it another way, the thing will speed up. Gravity is a force, therefore, objects accelerate due to gravity.
Gravitational Acceleration
Let’s have a look at how gravity affects acceleration. If you drop a ball from a cliff, you’ll observe that it accelerates as it falls - gravity causes it to accelerate. The acceleration of gravity has been calculated to be 9.8 m/sec2 for free-falling objects on Earth.
Free falling simply means that no other forces are acting on the object save gravity. Any influence of wind resistance, for example, would be ignored. A free-falling object’s velocity rises by 9.8 meters per second squared.
Example
Let’s take a look at the ball’s speed as it falls over time. This will assist us in comprehending how gravity produces acceleration.
-
Free-falling objects accelerate at the same rate every time they hit the ground.
-
The speed of a ball falling down a cliff.
The ball will accelerate at a speed of 9.8 meters per second in the first second of travel, as seen on the screen. The speed of the ball will increase by 9.8 meters per second in the next second, bringing it to 19.6 meters per second.
The identical event will repeat in the third second, resulting in a ball speed of 29.4 meters per second. The ball’s speed increases by 9.8 meters per second squared.
Gravity’s acceleration is so significant that it gets its symbol. g = 9.8 m/sec2 - that’s what it’s called when it’s abbreviated.
Newton’s law of Gravitation
Newton’s law of gravity states that any particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of their distance.
F = G(m1m2)/R2
The gravitational constant G (a quantity whose size depends on the system of units used and which is a universal constant) multiplied by the product of the masses (m1 and m2) and divided by the square of the distance R gives the magnitude of the attractive force.
In 1687, Isaac Newton proposed the law, which he used to explain the observed motions of the planets and their moons, which Johannes Kepler had reduced to mathematical form early in the 17th century.
Frequently Asked Questions
People usually ask following questions.
1. How do you tell the difference between mass and weight?
The mass of anything is a measurement of how much force it will take to change its course. The amount of matter – atoms and other particles – in an item determines its mass; more mass indicates more inertia, as there is more to move. Weight, on the other hand, is a measurement of the downward force exerted on an object by gravity.
2. What is an example of the relationship between mass and weight?
The mass of an object is a measure of all the matter that makes it up, and the weight is a measure of how much gravity is acting on it. Because we’re on Earth and are used to measuring things with Earth’s gravity, we say you weigh 50 kg if your mass is 50 kg. On Earth, a scale would read 50kg or 110lbs.
3. Is KG a mass or a weight?
The kilogram (kg) is the metric system’s fundamental mass unit. The mass of 1,000 cubic centimeters of water is very nearly equal to a kilogram (it was originally intended to be exactly equal). The pound is precisely specified as 0.45359237 kg.
4. What is the mass formula?
The amount of matter in a body is defined as its mass. The kilogram is the SI unit of mass (kg). Mass = Density Volume is the formula for calculating mass.
5. In KG, what is Newton?
1 pound
Definition. 1 kg m/s2 is the definition of a newton (it is a derived unit that is defined in terms of the SI base units). A newton is defined as the force required to accelerate one kilogram of mass one meter per second squared in the direction of the applied force.
6. What is an example of inertia?
Inertia is a force that resists change.
Inertia is the resistance to change in motion. Unless an external force forces a change, objects prefer to remain at rest or in motion. If you roll a ball, for example, it will keep rolling unless friction or something else forces it to stop.
7. Can you give five examples of inertia?
Inertia comes in a variety of forms.
A. The Inertia of Rest.
B. The inertia of Motion
C. Directional inertia
Satellites, to begin with:
(ii). Fruits and leaves are falling from the trees.
(iii). Cleaning a carpet…
8. What is the mass of one kilogram?
The kilogram (abbreviation: kg) is a mass unit in the Standard International (SI) System of Units. The mass of one liter (10-3 cubic meters) of pure water was the initial definition. A mass of 1 kilogram weighs approximately 2.20 pounds at the Earth’s surface (lbs).
9. Is it kilogram or kilograms?
The right measurement unit is kilogram, which is a short unit. The correct unit is kilogram, abbreviated as kg. Because the s stands for seconds, you don’t add as to SI units to pluralize them. The unit “kg’s” stands for kilogram seconds, which is not often used in the measurement.
10. Is a gram or a kilogram bigger?
You can observe the following using this table as a guide: A kilogram is 1,000 times the size of a gram (thus 1 kilogram equals 1,000 grams).
11. Is a centimeter (cm) larger than a millimeter (mm)?
A millimeter is a tenth of a centimeter in size. The smaller lines (without numbers) are separated by 1 millimeter. One centimeter equals ten millimeters.
12. Who invented the E= mc2 formula?
Einstein, Albert
Albert Einstein, according to legend, formulated this equation in 1905 and, in a single stroke, described how energy can be released in stars and nuclear explosions.
13. What was Einstein’s age in 1905?
In 1905, often known as Einstein’s annus mirabilis (miracle year), he produced four seminal works on the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, which catapulted him into the academic spotlight at the age of 26.
14. What is Motion, exactly?
Motion is the free movement of a body in relation to time. For example, a moving automobile, a fan, dust dropping on the carpet, water flowing from the tap, a ball rolling around, etc. Even the universe is always moving.
15. What are the three different forms of motion?
Translational, rotational, and oscillatory motions are the three primary types of motion.
16. What is the third law of Newton?
When two bodies contact, Newton’s third law states that when two bodies contact they apply forces to each other that are equal in magnitude and opposing in direction. The law of action and reaction is another name for the third law. A book on a table, for example, exerts a downward force equal to its weight on the table.
17. What is the 5th law of Newton?
There is a reactive force for every action (force), and the action and response forces are equal in magnitude and direction, and they act on distinct bodies. Often, action/reaction is triggered by contact forces, such as two boats “pushing away” from one another.
18. Who was the first to discover gravity?
Sir Isaac Newton was a British physicist who was the first to discover gravity.
Sir Isaac Newton was not a very huge man. However, as seen by his discoveries on gravity, light, motion, mathematics, and other subjects, he possessed a powerful intellect. According to legend, Isaac Newton developed gravitational theory after witnessing an apple fall in 1665 or 1666.
19. Is motion considered a force?
Motion is simply movement that requires the application of force. Pushing and tugging are two examples of forces that can speed up or slow down things. At a distance force and contact, forces are the two types of forces. A force only ever affects the motion or speed of the object to which it is applied.
20. What is the meaning of Newton?
Force
The newton is the SI’s (Standard International) force unit. The term newton(s) is commonly abbreviated N in physics and engineering documents. In the absence of any force-producing forces, one newton is the force necessary to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a velocity of one meter per second squared.
Conclusion
Mass is the amount of matter in a material, whereas weight is a measure of how the force of gravity works on that mass. Weight is defined as mass multiplied by gravity’s acceleration (g). Mass and Weight Comparison. When comparing mass and weight on Earth, for the most part, the values for mass are the same.
On Earth, your weight is calculated by mass but also by how distant the “surface” is from the center of gravity. Jupiter’s gravity is 316 times greater than Earth’s due to its mass, but you wouldn’t weigh 316 times heavier because its surface is so far away.
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