State five differences between mass and weight.

• Mass is simply the measure of the amount of matter in a body.

• Weight is the measure of the amount of force acting on a mass due to acceleration due to gravity.

• Mass is denoted by “M”.

• Weight is denoted by “W”.

• Mass is always constant for a body and there are several formulas to calculate mass.

• One way to calculate mass is:

Mass = volume × density

• Weight is the measure of the gravitational force acting on a body.

• Weight can be calculated from the following formula:

Weight = mass × acceleration due to gravity

• Mass is a base quantity.

• Mass only has magnitude and so, it is a scalar quantity.

• Weight is a derived quantity.

• Weight has both magnitude and direction (towards the centre of gravity) and so, it is a vector quantity.

• The SI unit of mass is Kilogram (Kg).

• The SI unit of weight is Newton (N).

• Mass does not depend upon gravity and is constant everywhere.

• Mass can never be zero.

• Weight is dependent on gravity and so, it varies from place to place.
• Weight can be zero where there is no gravity (like space).

• Mass can be easily measured using any ordinary balance like beam balance, lever balance, pan balance, etc.

• Weight can be measured by a spring balance or by using its formula.