Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Is kilogram a measure of weight or mass? Is my weight 123 pounds?

Mass is the amount of matter in an object. This amount
doesn't change no matter where the mass is located. It can be on Earth or on the moon,
but whatever the object's mass is, that would remain the same. However, weight is due to
the affect of the force of gravity on an object. Weight can change depending on where
the object is. Kilograms are a metric measure of weight.  Someone can have a weight of
123 pounds. That would be their weight on planet Earth. However, on a smaller celestial
body, such as the Moon, where the pull of gravity is one sixth that of Earth, their
weight would be one sixth their weight on Earth. On a larger planet, like Jupiter, there
weight would be much greater. Actually, even on Earth, at the equator their weight would
be slightly different than at the poles. The closer they are to the gravitational pull,
the more their weight would be. And since the Earth is not a perfect round object, but
an oblate spheroid, the weight varies slightly where you are located on
Earth.

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