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What is Mass?
Definition: It is the amount of matter in a body.
What is Weight?
Definition: It is the measure of gravitational force acting on a body.
Measuring Instruments
- Mass
– Beam Balance
– Electronic balance - Weight
– Spring balance
– Force meter
What is the differences between mass and weight?
Answer: Mass is a scalar quantity whereas weight is a vector quantity [1m]. Mass is measured with a beam balance whereas weight is measured with a spring balance[1m].
Classic Mass & Weight Questions
1. Explain why a beam balance will give the same value of mass at different places for the same object.
- Bean balance measures the mass of the object and mass is constant and does not change from place to place.
2. Explain why a spring balance may give different readings at different places when weighing the same object.
- Spring balance measures the weight of an object which depends on the different gravitational field strength at different places (usual referring to different planets).