1. Mass and Weight

2. What is Mass?
Mass is a measure of the amount of matter that an object contains.
The mass of an object is the same throughout the universe.
The metric unit of mass is the kilogram
1 kilogram = 1,000 grams

3. What is Weight?
Weight is a force. The weight of an object is equal to the force of gravity between the object and the earth.
The force of gravity changes slightly from one part of the earth to another so the weight of an object can also change depending on its location.
Since the force of gravity on each planet is different, the weight of an object is different from one planet to another.
The metric unit of weight is the Newton (N)

4. How are Mass and Weight Connected?
The weight of an object in Newtons (N) is equal to the mass of an object in kilograms (kg) multiplied by the force of gravity.
On earth, the force of gravity is 9.8 meters per second each and every second (9.8 m/sec2) so:
Weight or Force (N) = Mass in kg x 9.8
Therefore, there are 9.8 N/kg
If using grams, there are N/g
Weight or Force (N) = Mass in g x .0098 Or
1 N = 102 grams of force

5. How much do you weigh on another planet?
Convert your weight in pounds to kilograms
1 pound = kilogram
Use the surface gravity value of a planet from the list shown on the following page to calculate your weight in Newtons, then convert to pounds.
1 pound = 4.45 Newtons
If you weigh 50 pounds on earth, how much do you weigh on Jupiter?

6. Surface Gravity Forces of the Planets
Planet Newtons/kilogram
Mercury 3.68
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus 9.18
Neptune
Pluto
The Moon 1.62