Hey there! We receieved your request
Stay Tuned as we are going to contact you within 1 Hour
One of our academic counsellors will contact you within 1 working day.
Click to Chat
1800-5470-145
+91 7353221155
Use Coupon: CART20 and get 20% off on all online Study Material
Complete Your Registration (Step 2 of 2 )
Sit and relax as our customer representative will contact you within 1 business day
OTP to be sent to Change
Definition of Measurement of Mass
Mass
Unified Atomic Mass
Modes of Measurements
Range of Masses
In physics, we define mass as a physical property of a body. Mass is a measure which helps in analyzing how strong is a mutual attraction between two bodies (Gravitation Concept). It is generally a wrong belief that mass is same as weight, as mass is a constant quantity, whereas weight is a variable quantity.
Suppose you go to the moon and weigh yourself you will find your weight measure to be different from that of earth, and as usual, your mass on both planets will be same. The reason behind difference of weight between earth and the moon is the gravitational acceleration.
Mass is a basic characteristic of matter. It is independent of temperature, pressure or position of an object in space. Mass is expressed in different measures, but its standard unit is kilogram or kg. The SI or standard unit is issued by Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM). Its prototype is available in many laboratories across the world. In India, National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in New Delhi operates the Standard Unit as suggested by BIPM.
The unit of measuring mass is always chosen convenience wise, It means if we want to weigh a large animal, we would prefer kilogram as the unit and if we want to weigh small size animal, we may switch to another convenient unit. When it comes to measuring mass at the microscopic level, a standard unit of mass called “Unified Atomic Mass” is chosen.
The unified atomic mass is a standard unit for measuring mass on the atomic and sub-atomic level. It is denoted by the symbol (u) It is also known as An Atomic Mass Unit or Amu. Unified Atomic Mass is defined as the one-twelfth mass of Carbon-12 isotope. Mathematically,
1 unified atomic mass unit = 1 amu = 1/12 × mass of C-12 carbon isotope
= 1/12 × 1.992646547 × 10 −23 gram
= 1.660539040 × 10 −24 gram
= 1.66 × 10-27 kilograms
We use weighing machine to weigh objects
We measure mass in different forms and with different methods. Consider the following example:
Common objects, humans or other products can be weighed using weighing machine and common balance, as used in grocery shops
We use gravitational formula, to determine masses of large celestial bodies like earth, stars, sun and the moon
For measuring sub-atomic and atomic elements, we use mass spectrograph, in which radius of path of atomic particle is directly proportional to mass of charged particle moving under the influence of strong electric and magnetic field.
Weight of earth is of the order 1039 kg
The range of masses of objects in the universe is quite wide and varies from small sub-atomic elements to huge celestial bodies. As an example, the mass of an electron is of the order 10-30 kg and mass of the universe is the order 1055 kg. The table below depicts the mass of the particle and its range.
Watch this Video for more reference
More Readings
Measurement of Mas
Get your questions answered by the expert for free
You will get reply from our expert in sometime.
We will notify you when Our expert answers your question. To View your Question
Multiplication of Vectors Table of Content...
Scalars and Vectors Table of Content Scalars...
IIT JEE Introduction of Units and Measurements |...
IIT JEE Dimensions of Physical Quantities | JEE...
IIT JEE The International System of Units | JEE...
IIT JEE Dimensional Formulae and Dimensional...
Addition and Subtraction of Vectors Table of...
IIT JEE Measurement of Length | JEE General...
Applications of Dimensions Table of Content To...
Vector Components Components of a Vector: From the...
IIT JEE Accuracy, Precision of Instruments and...
IIT JEE Dimensional Analysis and its Applications...
IIT JEE Measurement of Time | JEE General Physics...
IIT JEE Significant Figures | JEE General Physics...
Dimension Analysis Table of Content Dimensional...