Sunday 8 December 2024
Mass and weight
Learning objective:
Be able to State that the acceleration of free fall g for a body near the
Earth is constant
Be able to distinguish between mass and weight
Starter task:
Discuss: What happens
to the speed of an object
when we drop it from a
point above the earth?
Why is this the case?
Why do the bowling ball and the feather fall at the
same rate in a vacuum?
They both accelerate at
g=9.8m/s2
This means their speed will
increase by 9.8m/s every
second.
But as there is no air
resistance to counter the Note: the situation is different when there is air
resistance or water resistance. In this case, the
acceleration of the objects, bowling ball would hit the floor much faster
they fall at the same rate. than the feathers.
08/12/2024
Acceleration due to Gravity
If I throw this ball upwards with a speed of
40m/s why does it come back down again?
The ball is acted on by a force called weight (gravity),
which decelerates the ball downwards at a rate of -
9.8m/s2 near the Earth’s surface.
So when the ball is released from the hand it
immediately begins to decelerate at a rate of -9.8m/s2
until it reaches 0m/s. The ball will then begin to fall
back down towards the earth with an acceleration of
9.8m/s2
08/12/2024
What is the difference between mass and
weight?
What is the difference between mass and
weight!
• Mass is the amount of matter an object contains and is measured in kg. It is a
measure of the quantity of matter in an object which is at rest relative to the observer
• Weight is the gravitational
force acting on an object due
to its mass and the strength
of the gravitational field it is
in, its units are newtons (N)
Note: the earth is a source of a
gravitational field which is why objects
have weight on the earth.
Gravitational field strength (g)
Gravitational field strength
(g) is defined as the force per
unit mass with units N/kg.
On earth g=9.8N/kg, which if
you have noticed is the same
value as the acceleration due
to gravity, and that’s because
they are equivalent.
Weight
So, when we place an
object with mass (kg) in the
gravitational field of the
earth it has weight (N).
This is the same as if we
were to do this on the
moon, however, the
gravitational field of the
moon is much weaker than Notice that the mass of the astronaut
the earth, so the object’s remains the same, only the weight
weight will be less on the changes based on the gravitational
field the object is in.
moon than on the earth.
Calculating Weight
Weight is the pull force on an object due to gravity.
• The larger the mass of an object, the larger its weight.
• The stronger the gravitational field of the planet, the
larger its weight.
Weight (N) = mass (kg) x gravitational field strength (N/kg)
W=mxg
You need to remember this equation by
heart
If you went in a space ship to the
planet Jupiter, what would happen
- to your mass?
- to your weight?
The same
Jupiter amount
is a big of amatter
planet with very high in you
mass. on
This Jupiter
means it has as
a
stronger
you
WEIGHT
MASS
do gravitational
on Earth,field so (g) thanmass
your the Earth. Since W
would = m xthe
stay g, your
mass stays the same but your weight increases as g increases on
same
Jupiter
Stay the
Increase Decrease
same
So, weight changes, but mass doesn’t!
I’m always going to
be 1,000Kg
No matter where I
am!
But my weight
(force) can change
when the force of
gravity changes.
Unless they eat me!
then their mass will
increase!
What would the weight and mass of an average
human be on each planet?
The average human mass is around 75kg
Gravitational field
Planet Weight (N) Mass (kg) strength (N/kg)
Mercury 3.8
Venus 8.8
Earth 9.8
Mars 3.8
Jupiter 24.9
Saturn 10.4
Uranus 10.4
Neptune 13.8
Pluto 0.29
weight (newton, N) = mass (kilogram, kg) × gravitational field strength (newton per kilogram, N/kg)
Gravitational field
Planet Weight (N) Mass (kg) strength (N/kg)
Mercury 3.8
Venus 8.8
Earth 9.8
Mars 3.8
Jupiter 24.9
Saturn 10.4
Uranus 10.4
Neptune 13.8
Pluto 0.29
weight (newton, N) = mass (kilogram, kg) × gravitational field strength (newton per kilogram, N/kg)
Draw a bar graph for an average human’s weight on different
planets. Planets on the x-axis and weight on the y axis.
Once finished all the above begin working
on the worksheet:
The worksheet is called mass and weight
worksheet. Find it from the link in teams.
What instrument can we use to measure
the mass of an object?
Weights and masses may both be compared using a balance
Measuring mass and weight using a
balance experiment
Choose 5 different items to measure the mass
and weight of.
You need to plan an experiment where you can
measure the mass and weight of objects
accurately.
You will then calculate the weight of the objects
using the equation we have learned for weight.
Using a balance to measure weight
Draw the following table in your books
Object Mass 1 Mass 2 Mass 3 Average mass (kg) Weight (N) Gravitational field
(kg) (kg) (kg) strength (N/kg)
9.8
9.8
9.8
9.8
9.8
Newton Meter Experiment
Use a Newton Meter to find the weight of the different masses provided. Make a
table like the one below. Then calculate the gravitational field strength according to
your results.
Mass (kg) Weight (N) Average weight Gravitational
1 2 3 (N) field strength
(N/kg)
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
After
0.5 your experiment:
1. Describe how a newton meter works.
2. Are the forces on a newton meter balanced or unbalanced?
3. What can you say about the extension of a spring as the force on
it increases?
4. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using a Newton
Meter against an electronic balance.
