What is the difference between Mass and Weight? Many times, people use the terms “mass” and “weight” as if they were one and the same thing. But the truth is they aren’t at all.
Mass
Mass is a fundamental property of matter that describes the amount of matter in an object. It is often measured in kilograms (kg) or grams (g), and is a scalar quantity, meaning it has magnitude but no direction.
Mass is distinct from weight, which is the force exerted on an object due to gravity and is dependent on both mass and acceleration due to gravity. The mass of an object remains constant regardless of its location in the universe, whereas its weight can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational field in which it is located. The concept of mass is a central concept in physics and is used to describe many phenomena, including the behavior of objects in motion, the properties of materials, and the nature of gravitational forces.
Weight
Weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity. It is measured in units of force, such as newtons or pounds, and is dependent on both the mass of the object and the acceleration due to gravity. In other words, weight is the product of an object’s mass and acceleration due to gravity.
The weight of an object can vary depending on its location in the universe because the acceleration due to gravity is not constant everywhere. For example, an object will weigh less on the moon than it does on Earth because the moon has less gravitational pull than Earth.
It is important to distinguish between weight and mass because they are not the same thing. Mass is a fundamental property of matter that describes the amount of matter in an object, whereas weight is a measure of the force exerted on an object due to gravity.
What is the difference between Mass and Weight?
Mass and weight are two different concepts in physics, although they are often used interchangeably in everyday language. The main difference between mass and weight is that mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the force that gravity exerts on an object.
In more technical terms, mass is a scalar quantity that describes the inertia of an object, which is the resistance an object has to changes in its motion. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg) or grams (g). Weight, on the other hand, is a vector quantity that describes the force exerted on an object due to gravity. Weight is measured in Newtons (N) or pounds (lbs).
The relationship between mass and weight is given by the formula:
Weight = Mass x Gravity
where gravity is the acceleration due to gravity, which is approximately 9.81 m/s^2 on the surface of the Earth.
The key difference between mass and weight, therefore, is that mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the force that gravity exerts on an object.
| Mass | Weight |
|---|---|
| A scalar quantity | A vector has a magnitude and direction |
| The SI unit is the Kg or g | The SI unit is the Newton or kg m s−2 |
| The mass of a body can never be zero | The weight of a body can be zero, like in space where there is no force of gravity, so a person experiences weightlessness. |
| Does not change with location; it remains constant at all times | The weight of a body changes with the location |
