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gcse_forces_massweight
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Mass and Weight
- Mass is how much of you there is. It is measured in kg and is a scalar. It does not change from place to place.
- Weight is how hard the force of gravity pulls on you. It is measured in N (it is a force!) and is a vector. It does change from place to place.
Why do we have weight?
- The force of gravity pulls you towards the centre of the Earth.
- On Earth, the gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.
- This means that for every kg of mass you have, 10 N of force is pulling you towards the centre of the Earth…
- On the Moon the gravitational field strength is only 1.6 N/kg. The same mass has less weight on the moon than it does on Earth.
- In space there is no gravity. You are weightless!
Factors affecting weight
Your weight is bigger if:
- You have more mass
- You are in a stronger gravitational field.
The formula!
- Weight = mass x gravitational field strength
- Mass = weight divided by gravitational field strength
- Gravitational field strength = weight divided by mass
gcse_forces_massweight.txt · Last modified: 2017/11/05 20:41 by rheadi
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