Which weighs more 1 pound of bricks or one pound of feathers?

Answer 1

Neither is heavier or lighter than the other. They both have the same weight. Namely, one pound.

Strange as it may seem, they both also have the same mass, namely 0.4536 kilogram. (rounded)

This is a very old and venerated trick question whos answer lies in the question.

A pound is a pound, no matter the material. There will be many more feathers than bricks, but they will weigh the same.

Answer 2

While on the face of it a pound of feathers would seem to weigh the same as a pound of gold, this overlooks the fact that gold is universally weighed using a different definition of 'pound' than that used for most other materials.

Precious metals such as gold are measured in troy weight. A troy pound is 12 troy ounces, and each troy ounce is 480 grains, making a total of 5760 grains to the pound of gold.

Most materials use pounds and ounces from the avoirdupois system, and such a standard pound is made up of 16 ounces, where each ounce is 437.5 grains, making a total of 7000 grains to the pound of feathers.

All this means that a "pound" of feathers (or bricks, or lead) is heavier than a "pound" of gold.

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The question is an old gag, based on the fact that gold is measured in troy ounces, but feathers (like all material other than precious metals and gemstones) are measured in avoirdupois ounces. Because troy weight has 12 ouncesto a pound, but avoirdupois weight has 16 ounces to a pound, the trick answer is that a pound of feathers (at 16 ounces) is heavier than a pound of gold (at 12 ounces).

Answer 3

They both weigh the same amount, and each of them also weighs the same amount

as a pound of flour, a pound of chili, a pound of pasta, a pound of mud, a pound of

paper clips, a pound of red paint, a pound of water, a pound of hair clippings, a

pound of auto parts, a pound of dead batteries, a pound of instant coffee, a pound

of model airplanes, a pound of potato salad, a pound of laundry soap, a pound of

dog food, a pound of aspirin tablets, or a pound of ground beef. We can even tell

you what the amount is: It's one pound.

Of course, it would take a lot more feathers to weigh a pound than it would bricks, so the volume of feathers would be much greater.

Answer 4

The correct answer is that they all "weigh" the same : one pound.

They are equal in weight, which is different from density.

There is, however, a physical difference as explained below.

Exception - Pound as a Unit of Mass

They are all very close to having the same weight on Earth but 'pounds' can also be a measurement for mass. The pile of material that has the greatest density would have its center of gravity closest to Earth. As such, gravitational attraction is infinitesimally greater for that material than for the less-dense materials whose centers of gravity are slightly farther away from the center of Earth. In this case, the bricks are more dense than either cheese or feathers, so its weight will be ever-so-slightly heavier than the cheese or feathers.

Another factor that should be considered in this question is the buoyancy provided by the atmosphere of the earth. The material with the smallest volume will displace less air than those with larger volumes. In this case, the bricks, again displace less air. The buoyant force operates opposite to weight so the bricks benefit less from the atmospheric buoyancy, and so, weigh less for that reason, too.

For similarly shaped heaps of bricks, cheese and feathers, all with equal masses, whose bottom surfaces are in contact with a surface the same distance from the center of the earth, the bricks, being densest and less buoyant than the other two materials, will have greater weight than the other materials.

However, if you put each one into an identical box, then close and seal the boxes, there's no way a scale can tell you which one is in any box. They would all weigh one pound.

More on Buoyancy

The common answer is that they "weigh" the same. Assuming you start at STP with a 1 lb mass of each of the substances, the weight, as determined by either a spring or equal arm balance will be slightly different*. Each substance will displace an amount of air equal to its volume and have a buoyant upwards force equivalent to the weight of the displaced air. Thus the denser material will have a proportionately smaller upward force which would translate as a larger downward force in favour of the object. Comparing the densities of the proposed objects means that the feathers would be lighter than the cheese, and both lighter than the bricks.

(* The difference would be immeasurable using any common scale.)

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Answer 5

1 pound of anything has the mass of 1 pound. One pound of bricks has the same mass as 1 pound of feathers. They have different densities. The pound of bricks would be more compact than the pound of feathers.

Answer 6

They weigh the same. Both 1 pound of bricks and 1 pound of feathers have a weight of 1 pound.

Answer 7

neither they both weigh the same amount-one pound

Answer 8

They are both a pound, so they weigh the same amount

Answer 9

They both weigh the same (1 lb), but the feathers would be a larger mass than the bricks.

Answer 10

They weigh the same amount- a pound.