Mass vs Weight

Objectives
 Describe an object's mass as the quantity of
matter it contains (measured in kg or g).

 Describe the weight of an object as the magnitude

of the earth's gravitational force acting upon it.

 Explain that the greater the mass of an object,

the more force is needed to change its velocity.
 Mass
 Mass is a measure of how much matter is in
an object.
 The quantity of matter that an object
contains.
 Mass
 Your mass is the same wherever you are, here
on Earth, on the moon, or in space!
 Your mass never changes, that’s because the
amount of stuff you are made of doesn’t
change.

 CHANGE
 Mass
 Mass is measured using a balance.
 Mass is measured in milligrams, grams and
kilograms most commonly
 What is the SI base unit for mass?
 grams
 Weight
 Weight is a measure of the force of gravity
acting upon an object
 Q: If a book is transported from earth to
the planet Mars, is the weight going to stay
the same?
 No, why?

 Earth and Mars don’t have the

same gravity.
 Weight
 Weight can change, unlike mass.
 Weight depends on how much gravity is acting upon
an object at it’s location.
 Let’s look at pictures below. How does his
weight change, depending on his location.
 Weight
 Weight is measured using a forcementer
 Weight is measure in Newtons
 Why do you think the unit for weight is Newtons?
The 5 lb bag of flour on
Earth weighs only 0.8 lbs
on the moon!
 Let’s Review
 Mass 
Weight
 Always stays the same  Changes with gravity
 Measured with a  Measured with a
balance scale
 Measured in kilograms  Measured in newtons
 Can never be zero  Can be zero
 Comparing Mass and Weight

Mass
Weight
amount of matter measure of the
in an object property of pulling force of
matter gravity on an
stays the same object's matter
unless you lose or can be measured
gain matter changes when
gravitational force
On Earth:
changes
SI unit: kilogram (kg) 1 kg = 9.8 N
SI unit: Newton (N)
Mass and
Inertia
Remember that the  What is going to take
greater the more energy to get
object’s mass the moving an elephant or
greater its inertia. a chicken?
 An elephant, why?
 Because the elephant
has more mass!
Which object requires the greatest amount
of force in order to change its velocity?

A. A bicycle
B. A motorcycle
C. A sports car
D. A pick-up truck
Weight is a Force
 Weight is the pull of
gravity on an object,
it is a force.

 Weight is the mass of

w=mx
an object times the
acceleration due to
g
gravity.
 w = mxg
Weight in
Newtons
 Acceleration of
Mass in kg gravity, symbolized by
“g” is equal to 9.8
m/s2
At or near the earth’s
surface, gravity tries
to accelerate objects
9.8 m/s faster each
N = kg x 9.8 m/s 2

weight acceleration
of gravity
mass
(g)
w=mx
gWhat is the weight
 w = 70kg * 9.8m/s2
of a 70-kg person on
earth? w = 686 kg*m/s2
 Remember that
acceleration due to w = 686 N
gravity on earth is
9.8 m/s2.
N is for Newton which is
the same as kg*m/s2
Answer the
following
3.Find the weight of an
object that has a
mass of 80 kg on
Mars.

w = 80kg x 3.7m/s2
w = 296N