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

Mass is a fundamental proprety of matter.

Weight is a measure of the gravitational pull, which is directly proportional to mass.

Weight is a **force**. It’s the pull of gravity. Like all forces, they’re expressed in Newtons (N). Mass is measured in grams if you’re using the international system of units, or any other unit (pounds, stone, etc.)

Mass is the same everywhere. It’s a property of matter itself. Weight depends on the gravitational field in which you’re weighing the object.