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Home Minds On Newton's Laws Mission NL6 Mass vs. Weight Help Help 4

Mission NL6 Mass vs. Weight

The Question

Which of the following statements are TRUE? (or FALSE?)

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Define Help

Definition of Mass:
The mass of an object refers to the amount of matter or stuff present in that object. It is a measure of the amount of inertia that an object possesses. The standard metric unit of mass is the kilogram (abbreviated kg); other units include grams (g), milligrams (mg), and slugs (British system).

Define Help

Definition of Weight:
The weight of an object refers to the force with which gravity attracts that object to Earth (or to any other object or large body that the object is on or near). The weight of an object varies with its location since it is a quantity dependent upon the gravitational field strength. Being a force, the standard metric unit of weight is the Newton (abbreviated N); another commonly used unit is the pound (British system).

Don't be Fooled

There are a number of misconceptions that will hinder a student's ability to be successful on this question. They are discussed here.
  • Mass is not the same thing as the weight. Weight is the force of gravity with which an object is attracted to Earth (or the moon). Mass is the amount of stuff in an object.
  • The mass of an object is the amount of stuff present in that object. If an object takes its stuff from Earth to the moon (or vice versa), the amount of it's stuff is not going to change. On the other hand the force with which that stuff is attracted to the Earth (a.k.a., as weight) is different than the force with which the stuff is attracted to the moon.
  • The formula for calculating the weight or the force of gravity is often stated as Weight = m•g. The g in the formula represents the acceleration of gravity. It is an acceleration value and not a force value. It is not be confused with gravity or the force of gravity. The force of gravity is the same thing as the weight of the object.

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