Mass and Weight

Mass:- We know that the mass of the object is the measure of its inertia. Greater the mass, the greater is the inertia. It remains the same whether the object is on the earth, the moon or even in outer space. Thus, the mass of the object is constant and does not change from place to place.

Weight:-The earth attracts every object with a certain force and this force depends on the mass (m) of the object and the acceleration due to gravity (g). The weight of an object is the force with which it is attracted towards the earth.

We know that, F = m × a

that is, F = m × g

The force of attraction of the earth on an object is known as the weight of the object. it is denoted by W.

So, W = m × g

SI unit of the weight is Newton “N”. The weight is a force acting vertically downwards; it has both magnitude and direction.

The value of g is constant at a given place. Therefore at a given place, the weight of an object is directly proportional to the mass. That is, W ∝ m. The mass of an object remains the same everywhere, that is, on the earth and on the any planet whereas its weight depends on its location.