Question

1. From the physics point of view, how 'weight' is different from 'mass' ? Give two examples of how weight depends on the environment.

2. The force of gravity on a baby elephant near the Earth’s surface is 260 lb (the elephant is about R_E = 6371 km from the Earth’s center). What will be the elephant’s weight if the elephant is moved twice as far from the Earth’s center?

Answer 1

Mass can be explained as the amount of matter a body contains.This is a constant quantity and will not change when the body changes its position or location.

Weight is the force that the body exerts when it is subjected to a gravitational field. The weight of a body depends on the extent of the gravitational pull. Weight of a body is certainly a variable quantity that will change when the object changes its location and position on account of the gravity acting on it. They are used in different places and in different times.

◆Mass is constant for every object. Unless the objects changes, the mass will not change. On the other hand, the weight of an object is subjected to change due to gravity. The weight of an object is the force pulling it to the ground. Mass is measured in kilograms.

●Mass is the inertial mass of the object. It is never the same as weight. Weight depends on the gravitational field.

Effect of weight on environment:- The weight of a body depends on the extent of the gravitational pull. Weight of a body is certainly a variable quantity that will change when the object changes its location and position on account of the gravity acting on it. They are used in different places and in different times.The acceleration of an object on the earth's surface due to gravity is 9.8m/S2. For example, if the mass of an object is 5 kilograms on the earth, its weight would be 9.8 X 5 = 49 N. A weighing machine reports the weight of an object and not its mass. To calculate the mass, you will have to divide the weight of the object by the acceleration due to gravity at that given point.