Mass explanation: I’ve always been told that mass was not the same as weight, and that grams are the metric unit of mass. But grams are a measurement of weight, so am I stupid, was it was explained to me wrong, or is science just not make sense?

Question

Mass explanation: I’ve always been told that mass was not the same as weight, and that grams are the metric unit of mass. But grams are a measurement of weight, so am I stupid, was it was explained to me wrong, or is science just not make sense?

In: 140

Answer 1

A scale does not measure mass, but the force excerted on the mass in a gravitational field. It is calibrated so you can immediatly read of the mass in grams or kg (or lb if you are siding with the empire), but if you would use a scale from earth (or Jupiter) on the moon (or anywhere else), you would get a “wrong” mass reading.