Newton's Laws: Weight, Mass And Gravity
Most of us have seen images of men walking on the moon. Now, even though the astronauts are wearing really heavy suits, they seem to bounce around the surface of the moon with very little effort. How is it that we can bounce around on the moon with ease while jumping here on Earth requires a lot of effort? The answer to this question lies within the difference between mass and weight.
Mass is a measure of how much matter an object contains, while weight is a measure of the force of gravity on the object. An object has the same composition, and therefore mass, regardless of its location. For example, a person with a mass of 70 kg on Earth has a mass of 70 kg in space as well as on the moon. However, that same person's weight is not the same since gravity is different in these locations. The person will weigh less on the moon because the moon has less gravity. To better understand the concepts of weight and mass, we must first consider gravity and its effect on objects.