what is the differrence between weight &mass?

Answer 1

An object has mass regardless of gravity. Gravity gives us 'weight' by placing force on the mass.

So, strictly speaking, an object's "mass" is a measure of how much matter it contains. An object's "weight" is a measure of gravity's effect on that object.

So an object's mass doesn't change if it is on a different planet, but its weight will.

Answer 2

Mass can be defined as any structured Matter that forms a volume. As opposed to other substances which are not mass and cannot be weighted;examples are masseless particles described in Relativity theories. Weight describes an interaction between two masses. Both masses when touching would experience a force which we call weight. We on earth are able to sense weight. The greater the mass ,the more weight we feel. The standard of weight is the kilogram which is measured on a balance scale is really a comparative measurement of mass. The reason is that on a balance scale both masses experience the same acceleration. (aceleration is a measure of how much you are pushed down by gravity). Hence ,no matter where the scale is located in the gravity field it will always measure the same. However the case is not the same in a spring scale,because it directly measures a gravitational force. The scale at sea level would read different weight than the one on top of a high mountain. You would not feel any weight if you were far away from a large mass as the earth. Since you have no mass interaction you would be weightless but not massless. Nevertheless, The gravity phenomena will still keep you body in one piece. The subject of measuring mass and weighing mass is not very clear to most people. It is very confusing ,so don't feel bad if you find it that way.

Answer 3

Mass is the amount of matter present in a body and is an intrinsic property of the body. Mass of an object remains the same always at any place.

Weight on the other hand is the force which a given mass feels due to the gravity at its place. Weight is measured in units of Force like Newton (which is the SI unit of Force).

If your mass is 60 kgs then your weight is approximately 60 x 10 = 600 Newtons. This is because

Force = mass x acceleration (From Newton's second Law)

Thus, weight = mass x acceleration due to gravity

If you go to moon your mass remains same, i.e 60 kgs, but your weight becomes less by 1/6 amount, since moon's gravity is 1/6 that of earth.

Mass of a body is measured by balancing it equally with another known amount of mass. You keep known amount of masses like blocks of 1 kg, 2 kg etc on one side till both the sides balance and then add up the numbers on the known side of mass and thus calculate the unknown mass. This works because, when the masses are equal on both the sides of the balance the effect of gravity cancels out for both (i.e weight cancels out) and hence we can calculate the mass on one side of the balance if we know the mass on the other side of the balance.

Weight is measured using a scale which effectively measures the pull on the mass exerted by the gravity of the earth.
Differences between Mass and Weight:
Mass:1. Is always a constant at any place and time.weight Depends on gravity at the place .
2. Mass Is measured in kilograms in SI unit. weight is measured in Newtons (not in kilograms as one might think)
3. Mass Is measured using balance Weight Is measured using scales .
4. Can never be zero Weight Can also be zero .
5. Mass Is an intrinsic property of a body and is independent of any external factor. Weight Depends on :
1. Mass of the object which is attracting it
2. Force with which it is being attracted (which in turn depends on the distance between the two) .

Answer 4

Mass is an intrinsic property of a body which a) resists any attempted change of its state of motion ; the bigger the mass, the more force you need to change its velocity, b) distorts the space-time around it and thus makes other masses move towards it -- we perceive this as the effect of a 'force' : the force of gravitation.
The weight of a body is the gravitational force which a much heavier body exerts on it : obviously, unlike mass, it depends on the mass of the heavier body as well as the distance from it.

Answer 5

mass is the matter content of a particular body. Weight is the FORCE with which the earth attracts the body. Eventually this force depends on mass.
weight=mass X acceleration due to gravity.

Answer 6

Weight of a person depends on the gravity of the planet. That is why people in space are said to have no weight. On the other hand mass does not depend on gravity. Mass of a person is the same everywhere.

Answer 7

Weight is a term of measurement referring to either an object's mass or to the gravitational force acting on the object. Its exact meaning depends on the context in which it is used. The difference between these quantities is, historically, a relatively recent innovation, and the term "weight" continues to serve both purposes today. In the physical sciences, it is often narrowly defined to refer only to the force due to gravity, while in everyday discourse it is often used synonymously with mass. However, it should be emphasized that mass and gravitational force are quite dissimilar properties of a given object, despite being proportional to each other when the object is subject to non-zero gravitational acceleration.really cool!

In everyday usage, however, the terms "weight" and "mass" are usually not different. For instance, when goods are bought and sold "by weight", the amount of goods exchanged (the mass) is the quantity of interest, not how hard they press down on the table (the force). Similarly, measurements of body weight focus on the amount of tissue (fat, muscle, etc.) present. Although it would be more accurate (and therefore preferable) to say that an object "masses one kilogram," such phrasing remains uncommon, and is considered equivalent to saying that an object "weighs one kilogram."

The gravitational force exerted on an object is directly proportional to its mass, so a mass of x kilograms always weighs x times as much as a mass of one kilogram in a given gravitational field. Because of this proportionality, it is not necessary to distinguish between mass or force in most contexts.

Mass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it is equivalent to. Mass is a central concept of classical mechanics and related subjects, and there are several forms of mass within the framework of relativistic kinematics (see mass in special relativity and mass in General Relativity). In the theory of relativity, the quantity invariant mass, which in concept is close to the classical idea of mass, does not vary between single observers in different reference frames.

In classical mechanics, there are three types of mass or properties called mass:

Inertial mass is a measure of an object's resistance to changing its state of motion when a force is applied. An object with small inertial mass changes its motion more readily, and an object with large inertial mass does so less readily.
Passive gravitational mass is a measure of the strength of an object's interaction with the gravitational field. Within the same gravitational field, an object with a smaller passive gravitational mass experiences a smaller force than an object with a larger passive gravitational mass. (This force is called the weight of the object. In informal usage, the word "weight" is often used synonymously with "mass", because the strength of the gravitational field is roughly constant everywhere on the surface of the Earth. In physics, the two terms are distinct: an object will have a larger weight if it is placed in a stronger gravitational field, but its passive gravitational mass remains unchanged.)
Active gravitational mass is a measure of the strength of the gravitational field due to a particular object. For example, the gravitational field that one experiences on the Moon is weaker than that of the Earth because the Moon has less active gravitational mass.

Answer 8

Weisht is the gravitational pull exerted by an object, while Mass is the entire matter present in an object.

Weight is different on different parts of Earth or other planets, while the mass of any object remailns constant.

Answer 9

Weight is a force exerted by a body on earth or anything.. It can have slightly diff. values at diffe. places.. Mass is generally a constant property except for some special cases..
Weight= mass x accln due to gravity

Answer 10

-MASS-
The total quantity of matter contained in a body.
Its unit is kilo gram (Kg).
It is a scalar quantity.
It is constant everywhere.

-WEIGHT-
The force with which an object is attracted towards the centre of the planet or satellite.
Its unit is Newton (N).
It is a vector quantity.
It is changeable. Suppose the weight of a person on the moon and the earth is different.