Mass, Weight and Density

Mass
• Mass is the measure of the amount of
substance in a body.
• Its SI unit is the kilograms (kg).
• It depends on the number of atoms it contains
and the size of those atoms.
• It is constant.
 Weight
• Weight is the pull of gravity on a body.
• It is a vector and its SI unit is the Newton (N).
• It is measured using a spring balance.
• Weight changes from place to place.
• The weight of a body is equal to the product
of the mass of the body and the acceleration
due to gravity (W = mg).
 Inertia
• The inertia of an object refers to the
reluctance of the object to start moving if it is
stationary in the first instance, or
• Reluctance to stop moving if it is moving in
the first instance.
• The bigger the mass of a body, then the
greater will be its inertia.
 Density
• Density is mass per unit volume.
• It is calculated by the ratio of mass / volume.
• Density = mass / volume
ρ=m/v
• The SI unit is kg/m3or kgm-3.
• 1000 kg/m3 = 1 g/cm3.
 Floating and Sinking
• When an object is placed in a liquid of lower
density, the object sinks.
• When it is placed in a liquid of a greater
density, it floats.
• Hydrometer is the instrument used to
measure the density of a liquid.
• The shape of an object also determine
whether the object able to float or not.
 Floating and Sinking
Changes in the density of water have serious effects
on ships. When cargo boat is loaded in a sea port,
the captain has to limit the load it carries if he is to
sail up a river.
River water which has a lower density will cause the
ship to sink if it carrying too heavy load.
All ships have markings on their hulls to show how
deep they may be submerged. These markings are
called Plimsoll lines
 Gravitational Field
• Gravitational field is a region in which the mass of an
object experiences a force due to gravitational
attraction.
• Gravitational field strength, g, is defined as
gravitational force per unit mass.
• N Kg-1 = m s-2
• Any object placed around the Earth experiences a force
of pulling towards the Earth.
• The force is strongest on the surface of the Earth and
gets weaker as we go further away.
 Gravitational Field
• Gravitational field strength = Weight / Mass

• Weight = Mass x Gravitational field strength

W=mxg

• Earth’s gravitational field = 10 m s-2

• Moon’s gravitational field = 1.6 m s-2