Are mass and weight of matter the same thing?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking no. For practical purposes yes.

Mass does not change - 1 kg is 1 kg anywhere in the universe. However, 1 kg weighs less on the moon than it does on the earth. Weight is dependent on gravity.

1 kg weighs 9.81 Newtons on the earth and about 1.64 Newtons on the moon.

Answer 2

No it is not. Mass is a totally different thing in science than weight.

Mass is the amount of matter that an object has. Typically expressed in kilograms, mass can be calculated from the force applied to an object and the acceleration that the object experiences because of that force. The equation is f = ma, where f is force in Newtons, m is mass in kilograms, and a is acceleration in meters per second squared.

Weight, on the other hand, is the force that the object experiences due to acceleration due to gravity. The equation is still f = ma, but (typically, on the Earth) a is 9.81 meters per second squared.

Now, if you want to be technically accurate, that means that an object with mass of 1 kilogram weighs, on the Earth, about 9.81 Newtons. We have a tendency, however, to state weight in kilograms also, so we would tend to say that the object has weight of 1 kilogram. The agreed assumption in that case, is to normalize to the effect of gravity and divide Newtons by 9.81.

This won't work anywhere else, of course, such as on the Moon. The Moon's gravity is about 0.17 of Earth, so that same 1 kilogram (and I do mean mass, here) object would weigh about 1.64 Newtons.

Note very importantly, that the object still has mass of 1 kilogram, and it will still take the same amount of force to accelerate it by the same rate.

Answer 3

Strictly speaking no. For practical purposes yes.

Mass does not change - 1 kg is 1 kg anywhere in the universe. However, 1 kg weighs less on the moon than it does on the earth. Weight is dependent on gravity.

1 kg weighs 9.81 Newtons on the earth and about 1.64 Newtons on the moon.

Answer 4

No, mass and weight are not the same thing. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object and remains the same regardless of the gravity acting on it. Weight, on the other hand, is a measure of the force of gravity acting on an object and can vary depending on the gravitational field strength.