mass vs weight

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Conceptually I understand that mass is a measure of the amount of stuff present in an object, while weight is a measure of the force of gravity applied to that object. An object of a given mass will have a bigger weight on Earth than on the moon because Earth’s gravity is stronger. But… mass is determined by weighing an object on a scale. And there is a simple mathematical conversion between grams (mass) and pounds (weight), implying that they’re just different units for the same concept. So what gives? (Also this is a question that applies to so many fields, I had no idea which flair to apply.)

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Mass is how much stuff you’re made of.

Weight is how hard the earth’s gravity pulls down on your mass.

Bonus: Density is how close the stuff you’re made of is together.

If I took a 4in cube of iron and weighed it, then smushed that block so it was only a 1in cube (increasing the density) it would weigh the same, but still have the same mass.

Edit: I’m dumb and didn’t read the rest of the post.

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