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The mass of an object is a measure of the object's inertial property, or the amount of matter it contains. The weight of an object is a measure of the force exerted on the object by gravity, or the force needed to support it. The pull of gravity on the earth gives an object a downward acceleration of about 9.8 m/s 2. In trade and commerce and ...
However, the names of all SI mass units are based on gram, rather than on kilogram; thus 10 3 kg is a megagram (10 6 g), not a *kilokilogram. The tonne (t) is an SI-compatible unit of mass equal to a megagram (Mg), or 10 3 kg. The unit is in common use for masses above about 10 3 kg and is often used with SI prefixes.
The weight of an object on Earth's surface is the downwards force on that object, given by Newton's second law of motion, or F = m a (force = mass × acceleration). Gravitational acceleration contributes to the total gravity acceleration, but other factors, such as the rotation of Earth, also contribute, and, therefore, affect the weight of the ...
A weight (also known as a mass) is an object, normally with high density, whose chief task is to have mass and exert weight (through gravity). It is used for different purposes, such as in: It is used for different purposes, such as in:
Restated in mathematical terms, on the surface of the Earth, the weight W of an object is related to its mass m by W = mg, where g = 9.80665 m/s 2 is the acceleration due to Earth's gravitational field, (expressed as the acceleration experienced by a free-falling object).
The apparent weight can also differ from weight when an object is "partially or completely immersed in a fluid", where there is an "upthrust" from the fluid that is working against the force of gravity. [2] Another example is the weight of an object or person riding in an elevator. When the elevator begins rising, the object begins exerting a ...
An Earth mass (denoted as M 🜨, M ♁ or M E, where 🜨 and ♁ are the astronomical symbols for Earth), is a unit of mass equal to the mass of the planet Earth. The current best estimate for the mass of Earth is M 🜨 = 5.9722 × 10 24 kg , with a relative uncertainty of 10 −4 . [ 2 ]
The distinction between mass and weight is unimportant for many practical purposes because the strength of gravity does not vary too much on the surface of the Earth. In a uniform gravitational field, the gravitational force exerted on an object (its weight) is directly proportional to its mass. For example, object A weighs 10 times as much as ...