MODULE 15: MASS AND WEIGHT

Mass is sometimes confused with weight. We say heavy object contains a lot of matter.
We often determine the amount of matter in an object by measuring its gravitational attraction to
the earth. However, mass is more fundamental than weight.
This module will help you see the difference and the relationship among mass, weight
and force of gravity. The module will also show how profound the differences are and yet we do
not get to experience them in our everyday lives.

In this module, you will:

a) differentiate between mass and weight; and

b) discuss the relationship among mass, weight and force of gravity.

15.1 MASS

Kick an empty plastic bottle and it moves. Kick a plastic bottle filled with sand and it
doesn’t move that much. Kick a plastic bottle filled with steel and nails and you’ll hurt your foot.
The nail-filled bottle has more inertia than the sand-filled bottle, which in turn has more inertia
than the empty bottle. The amount of inertia an object has depends on its mass – which is
roughly the amount of material present in the object. The more mass an object has, the greater
its inertia and the more force it takes to change its state of motion. Mass is a measure of inertia of
an object.
There are two kinds of mass: the inertial mass and the gravitational mass.
Inertial Mass Gravitational Mass
- can be determined by - can be determined by comparing the gravitational forces
measuring the amount of exerted on two objects, one with an unknown mass, and
force necessary to accelerate the other with a known mass. The object with the unknown
it. It is the ratio of the net mass is placed on one pan of a beam balance. The object
force exerted on the object with the known mass is placed on the pan at the either end
and its acceleration. of the beam. When the pans balance, the force of gravity is
𝑭 the same on each pan. Then the masses of the object on
𝒎=𝒂
either side of the balance must be the same.

15.2 WEIGHT
TECHNO F
Suppose you pick up a stone and let it drop, it will Figure 15. __ R
accelerate downward. Thus, Earth must be exerting a Astronaut in O
N
downward force on it. The gravitational force exerted by a spacesuit can
T
large body, usually Earth, is called weight. It is measured jump easily on
the moon. I
in newtons (N) like any other force. (Source: E
R
Weight depends on an object’s location. The Microsoft
S
weight of the stone would be different on the earth and on Encarta 2009)

the moon, and still different in outer space. On the surface of the moon, the stone would have
only one- sixth (1/6) the weight it has on earth. This is because the force of gravity on the moon
is only 1/6 as strong as it is on the earth. If the stone were in gravity-free region of space, its
weight would be zero. Its mass, on the other hand, would not be zero.