Answer 1:
The difference between weight and mass can be a
bit confusing. Mass is a description of how
much of something there is and is not affected by
any force like gravity. Weight on the other hand
is a measure of force, such as the force due to
gravity. The larger something's mass is, the
larger it's weight. Now here's the really
confusing part, we generally don't use these
terms correctly!
Most of the time, we determine weight using a
scale which measures the force of gravity on our
body. But we report that as a mass, even though
the scale was actually telling us a force, not a
mass. The scale tells us a mass because it
converts the force into a mass. Kilograms and
lbs are usually the units used for weight when in
fact those are units of mass.
For the case of a solid that has a mass of 180g
on the moon, it would have the same mass on Earth.
As long as nothing was taken away from the solid,
it's mass can't change. However,the force of
gravity is lower on the moon than the Earth
because the moon is smaller. So the solid
would have a smaller weight on the moon than the
Earth, but the same mass. Click Here to return to the search form.
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