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What are the differences between mass and weight?
Posted May 16, 2022
Answer
The terms mass and weight are often interchangeably, which is entirely wrong. There are several differences between the two.
| Basis of Differentiation | Mass | Weight |
| Definition | Is the measure of the amount of matter present in a body |
Is the measure of the amount of force acting on a body due to gravity or in other words, the measure of how strongly gravity pulls on that body |
| Effect of external factors | Is an intrinsic measure of an object and is independent of external factors – it remains constant at all times | Is an extrinsic property of an object and is affected by the mass that is attracting it and as well as the force of attraction (gravity) - varies depending on gravity at a particular place |
| Effect of gravity | Is not affected by gravity | Is hugely affected by gravity |
| Method of measurement | Is measured using various types of balance scales such as a triple-beam balance, pan balance, lever balance or electronic balance, which balance the body of interest equally with another known amount of mass | Is measured using a scale spring balance that effectively measures the pull on the mass exerted by the earth’s gravity |
| Unit of Measurement | Mass is expressed in kilogram (kg), grams (g), and milligram (mg). | Weight is expressed in Newton (N) |
| Type of physical quantity | Is a scalar quantity – has only magnitude but no direction | Is a vector quantity – has both magnitude and direction, which is towards the center of the earth |
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