Mass versus weight

distributed to the surface of the Earth as when the plane

was on the runway, but spread over a larger area.
A better scientic denition of mass is its description as
being composed of inertia, which basically is the resistance of an object being accelerated when acted on by
an external force. Gravitational weight is the force created when a mass is acted upon by a gravitational eld and
the object is not allowed to free-fall, but is supported or
retarded by a mechanical force, such as the surface of a
planet. Such a force constitutes weight.[2] This force can
be added to by any other kind of force.
For example, in the photograph, the girls weight, subtracted from the tension in the chain (respectively the support force of the seat), yields the necessary centripetal
If one were to stand behind this girl at the bottom of the arc and
force to keep her swinging in an arc. If one stands betry to stop her, one would be acting against her inertia, which
hind her at the bottom of her arc and abruptly stops her,
arises from mass, not weight.
the impetus (bump or stopping-force) one experiences
is due to acting against her inertia, and would be the same
In everyday usage, the mass of an object is often referred even if gravity were suddenly switched o.
to as its weight though these are in fact dierent con- While the weight of an object varies in proportion to the
cepts and quantities. In scientic contexts, mass refers strength of the gravitational eld, its mass is constant (igloosely to the amount of "matter" in an object (though noring relativistic eects) as long as no energy or matmatter may be dicult to dene), whereas weight refers ter is added to the object.[3] Accordingly, for an astroto the force experienced by an object due to gravity.[1] In naut on a spacewalk in orbit (a free-fall), no eort is reother words, an object with a mass of 1.0 kilogram will quired to hold a communications satellite in front of him;
weigh approximately 9.81 newtons (newton is the unit of it is weightless. However, since objects in orbit retain
force, while kilogram is the unit of mass) on the surface their mass and inertia, an astronaut must exert ten times
of the Earth (its mass multiplied by the gravitational eld as much force to accelerate a 10ton satellite at the same
strength). Its weight will be less on Mars (where gravity rate as one with a mass of only 1 ton.
is weaker), more on Saturn, and negligible in space when
On Earth, a swing set can demonstrate this relationship
far from any signicant source of gravity, but it will albetween force, mass, and acceleration. If one were to
ways have the same mass.
stand behind a large adult sitting stationary on a swing
Objects on the surface of the Earth have weight, although and give him a strong push, the adult would temporarily
sometimes this weight is dicult to measure. An exam- accelerate to a quite low speed, and then swing only a
ple is a small object oating in a pool of water (or even short distance before beginning to swing in the opposite
on a dish of water), which does not appear to have weight direction. Applying the same impetus to a small child
since it is buoyed by the water; but it is found to have would produce a much greater speed.
its usual weight when it is added to water in a container
which is entirely supported by and weighed on a scale.
Thus, the weightless object oating in water actually
transfers its weight to the bottom of the container (where 1 Overview
the pressure increases). Similarly, a balloon has mass but
may appear to have no weight or even negative weight, Mass corresponds to the general, everyday notion of how
due to buoyancy in air. However the weight of the bal- heavy something is. Mass is (among other properties)
loon and the gas inside it has merely been transferred to a an inertial property; that is, the tendency of an object to
large area of the Earths surface, making the weight dif- remain at constant velocity unless acted upon by an outcult to measure. The weight of a ying airplane is sim- side force. Under Sir Isaac Newtons 328-year-old laws
ilarly distributed to the ground, but does not disappear. of motion and an important formula that sprang from his
If the airplane is in level ight, the same weight-force is work, F = ma, an object with a mass, m, of one kilogram
1

3 BUOYANCY AND WEIGHT

the Imperial system and U.S. customary units, is a unit of
mass and its related unit of force is the pound-force.

2 Converting units of mass to

equivalent forces on Earth

Matters mass strongly inuences many familiar kinetic properties.

will accelerate, a, at one meter per second per second

(about one-tenth the acceleration due to earths gravity)[4]
when acted upon by a force, F, of one newton.
Inertia is seen when a bowling ball is pushed horizontally on a level, smooth surface, and continues in horizontal motion. This is quite distinct from its weight,
which is the downwards gravitational force of the bowling ball one must counter when holding it o the oor.
The weight of the bowling ball on the Moon would be
one-sixth of that on the Earth although its mass remained
unchanged. Consequently, whenever the physics of recoil kinetics (mass, velocity, inertia, inelastic and elastic
collisions) dominate and the inuence of gravity is a negligible factor, the behavior of objects remains consistent
even where gravity is relatively weak. For instance, billiard balls on a billiard table would scatter and recoil with
the same speeds and energies after a break shot on the
Moon as on Earth; they would, however, drop into the
pockets much more slowly.
In the physical sciences, the terms mass and weight
are rigidly dened as separate measures, as they are different physical properties. In everyday use, as all everyday objects have both mass and weight and one is almost
exactly proportional to the other, weight often serves
to describe both properties, its meaning being dependent
upon context. For example, in retail commerce, the net
weight of products actually refers to mass and is expressed in mass units such as grams or ounces (see also
Pound: Use in commerce). Conversely, the load index
rating on automobile tires, which species the maximum
structural load for a tire in kilograms, refers to weight;
that is, the force due to gravity. Before the late 20th
century, the distinction between the two was not strictly
applied in technical writing, so that expressions such as
molecular weight (for molecular mass) are still seen.

Gravity anomalies covering the Southern Ocean are shown here

in false-color relief. This image has been normalized to remove
variation due to dierences in latitude.

When an objects weight (its gravitational force) is

expressed in kilograms, this actually refers to the
kilogram-force (kgf or kg-f), also known as the kilopond
(kp), which is a non-SI unit of force. All objects on the
Earths surface are subject to a gravitational acceleration
of approximately 9.8 m/s2 . The General Conference on
Weights and Measures xed the value of standard gravity at precisely 9.80665 m/s2 so that disciplines such as
metrology would have a standard value for converting
units of dened mass into dened forces and pressures.
Thus the kilogram-force is dened as precisely 9.80665
newtons. In reality, gravitational acceleration (symbol: g)
varies slightly with latitude, elevation and subsurface density; these variations are typically only a few tenths of a
percent. See also Gravimetry.
Engineers and scientists understand the distinctions between mass, force, and weight. Engineers in disciplines
involving weight loading (force on a structure due to gravity), such as structural engineering, convert the mass of
objects like concrete and automobiles (expressed in kilograms) to a force in newtons (by multiplying by some factor around 9.8; 2 signicant gures is usually sucient
for such calculations) to derive the load of the object. Material properties like elastic modulus are measured and
published in terms of the newton and pascal (a unit of
pressure related to the newton).

Because mass and weight are separate quantities, they

have dierent units of measure. In the International System of Units (SI), the kilogram is the unit of mass, and 3 Buoyancy and weight
the newton is the unit of force. The non-SI kilogramforce is also a unit of force typically used in the measure Usually, the relationship between mass and weight on
of weight. Similarly, the avoirdupois pound, used in both Earth is highly proportional; objects that are a hundred

3
times more massive than a one-liter bottle of soda almost
always weigh a hundred times moreapproximately
1,000 newtons, which is the weight one would expect on
Earth from an object with a mass slightly greater than 100
kilograms. Yet, this is not always the case and there are
familiar objects that violate this mass / weight proportionality.
26

26

24

24

22

22

20

20

18

18

16

16

14

14

12

12

10

10

Regardless of the uid in which an object is immersed (gas or

liquid), the buoyant force on an object is equal to the weight of
the uid it displaces.

A common helium-lled toy balloon is something familiar to many. When such a balloon is fully lled with
helium, it has buoyancya force that opposes gravity.
When a toy balloon becomes partially deated, it will
often become neutrally buoyant and can oat about the
house a meter or two o the oor. In such a state, there
are moments when the balloon is neither rising nor falling
andin the sense that a scale placed under it will have
no force applied to itis, in a sense perfectly weightless
(actually as noted below, weight has merely been redistributed along the Earths surface so it cannot be measured). Though the rubber comprising the balloon has a
mass of only a few grams, which might be almost unnoticeable, the rubber still retains all its mass when inated.
Again, unlike the eect that low-gravity environments
have on weight, buoyancy does not make a portion of an
objects weight vanish; the missing weight is instead being borne by the ground, which leaves less force (weight)
being applied to any scale theoretically placed underneath the object in question (though one may perhaps
have some trouble with the practical aspects of accurately
weighing something individually in that condition). If one
were however to weigh a small wading pool that someone
then entered and began oating in, they would nd that
the full weight of the person was being borne by the pool
and, ultimately, the scale underneath the pool. Whereas a
buoyant object (on a properly working scale for weighing
buoyant objects) would weigh less, the object/uid system becomes heavier by the value of objects full mass
once the object is added. Since air is a uid, this principle applies to object/air systems as well; large volumes
of airand ultimately the groundsupports the weight a
body loses through mid-air buoyancy.
The eects of buoyancy dont just aect balloons; both
liquids and gases are uids in the physical sciences, and
when all macrosize objects larger than dust particles
are immersed in uids on Earth, they have some degree
of buoyancy.[5] In the case of either a swimmer oating in a pool or a balloon oating in air, buoyancy can
fully counter the gravitational weight of the object being
weighed, for a weighing device in the pool. However, as
noted, an object supported by a uid is fundamentally no
dierent from an object supported by a sling or cable
the weight has merely been transferred to another location, not made to disappear.

A hot air balloon when it has neutral buoyancy has no weight

for the men to support but still retains its great mass and inertia.

The mass of weightless (neutrally buoyant) balloons can

be better appreciated with much larger hot air balloons.
Although no eort is required to counter their weight
when they are hovering over the ground (when they can

often be within one hundred newtons of zero weight), the

inertia associated with their appreciable mass of several
hundred kilograms or more can knock fully grown men
o their feet when the balloons basket is moving horizontally over the ground.

TYPES OF SCALES AND WHAT THEY MEASURE

5 Types of scales and what they

measure

Buoyancy and the resultant reduction in the downward

force of objects being weighed underlies Archimedes
principle, which states that the buoyancy force is equal
to the weight of the uid that the object displaces. If this
uid is air, the force may be small.

Buoyancy eects of air on measurement

Normally, the eect of air buoyancy on objects of normal density is too small to be of any consequence in
day-to-day activities. For instance, buoyancys diminishing eect upon ones body weight (a relatively lowdensity object) is 1 860 that of gravity (for pure water
it is about 1 770 that of gravity). Furthermore, variations in barometric pressure will rarely aect ones weight
more than 1 part in 30,000.[6] However, in metrology
(the science of measurement), the precision mass standards for calibrating laboratory scales and balances are
manufactured with such accuracy that air density is accounted for to compensate for buoyancy eects. Given
the extremely high cost of platinum-iridium mass standards like the International Prototype Kilogram (the mass
standard in France that denes the magnitude of the kilogram), high-quality working standards are made of special stainless steel alloys[7] with densities of about 8,000
kg/m3 , which occupy greater volume than those made of
platinum-iridium, which have a density of about 21,550
kg/m3 . For convenience, a standard value of buoyancy
relative to stainless steel was developed for metrology
work and this results in the term conventional mass.[8]
Conventional mass is dened as follows: For a mass at
20 C, conventional mass is the mass of a reference standard of density 8,000 kg/m3 which it balances in air with
a density of 1.2 kg/m3 . The eect is a small one, 150
ppm for stainless steel mass standards, but the appropriate
corrections are made during the manufacture of all precision mass standards so they have the true labeled mass.
Whenever a high-precision scale (or balance) in routine
laboratory use is calibrated using stainless steel standards,
the scale is actually being calibrated to conventional mass;
that is, true mass minus 150 ppm of buoyancy. Since objects with precisely the same mass but with dierent densities displace dierent volumes and therefore have different buoyancies and weights, any object measured on
this scale (compared to a stainless steel mass standard)
has its conventional mass measured; that is, its true mass
minus an unknown degree of buoyancy. In high-accuracy
work, the volume of the article can be measured to mathematically null the eect of buoyancy.

A balance-type weighing scale: Unaected by the strength of

gravity.

Load-cell based bathroom scale: Aected by the strength of

gravity.

When one stands on a balance-beam-type scale at a doctors oce, they are having their mass measured directly.
This is because balances (dual-pan mass comparators)
compare the gravitational force exerted on the person on
the platform with that on the sliding counterweights on
the beams; gravity is the force-generating mechanism that
allows the needle to diverge from the balanced (null)
point. These balances could be moved from Earths equator to the poles and give exactly the same measurement,
i.e. they would not spuriously indicate that the doctors
patient became 0.3% heavier; they are immune to the
gravity-countering centrifugal force due to Earths rotation about its axis. But if you step onto spring-based or
digital load cell-based scales (single-pan devices), you are
having your weight (gravitational force) measured; and
variations in the strength of the gravitational eld aect

5
the reading. In practice, when such scales are used in
commerce or hospitals, they are often calibrated on-site
and certied on that basis, so that the mass they measure,
expressed in pounds or kilograms, is at the desired level
of accuracy.[9]

Use in commerce

In the United States of America the United States Department of Commerce, the Technology Administration,
and the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) have dened the use of mass and weight in the
exchange of goods under the Uniform Laws and Regulations in the areas of legal metrology and engine fuel quality in NIST Handbook 130.
NIST Handbook 130 states:
V. Mass and Weight.
[NOTE 1, See page 6]
The mass of an object is a measure
of the objects inertial property, or
the amount of matter it contains.
The weight of an object is a measure of the force exerted on the object by gravity, or the force needed
to support it. The pull of gravity on the earth gives an object a
downward acceleration of about 9.8
m/s2 . In trade and commerce and
everyday use, the term weight is
often used as a synonym for mass.
The net mass or net weight declared on a label indicates that the
package contains a specic amount
of commodity exclusive of wrapping materials. The use of the term
mass is predominant throughout
the world, and is becoming increasingly common in the United States.
(Added 1993)
W. Use of the Terms Mass and
Weight. [NOTE 1, See page 6]
When used in this handbook, the
term weight means mass. The
term weight appears when inchpound units are cited, or when both
inch-pound and SI units are included in a requirement. The terms
mass or masses are used when
only SI units are cited in a requirement. The following note appears
where the term weight is rst used
in a law or regulation.
NOTE 1: When used in this law
(or regulation), the term weight

means mass. (See paragraph V.

and W. in Section I., Introduction,
of NIST Handbook 130 for an explanation of these terms.) (Added
1993) 6
U.S. federal law, which supersedes this handbook, also
denes weight, particularly Net Weight, in terms of the
avoirdupois pound or mass pound. From 21CFR101 Part
101.105 Declaration of net quantity of contents when
exempt:
(a) The principal display panel
of a food in package form shall bear
a declaration of the net quantity of
contents. This shall be expressed
in the terms of weight, measure,
numerical count, or a combination
of numerical count and weight or
measure. The statement shall be in
terms of uid measure if the food
is liquid, or in terms of weight if
the food is solid, semisolid, or viscous, or a mixture of solid and liquid; except that such statement may
be in terms of dry measure if the
food is a fresh fruit, fresh vegetable,
or other dry commodity that is customarily sold by dry measure. If
there is a rmly established general
consumer usage and trade custom
of declaring the contents of a liquid
by weight, or a solid, semisolid, or
viscous product by uid measure, it
may be used. Whenever the Commissioner determines that an existing practice of declaring net quantity of contents by weight, measure, numerical count, or a combination in the case of a specic packaged food does not facilitate value
comparisons by consumers and offers opportunity for consumer confusion, he will by regulation designate the appropriate term or terms
to be used for such commodity.
(b)(1) Statements of weight shall be
in terms of avoirdupois pound and
ounce.
See also 21CFR201 Part 201.51 Declaration of net
quantity of contents for general labeling and prescription
labeling requirements.

7 See also
Apparent weight

8 NOTES
Gravimetry
Inertia
International System of Units (SI)
Kilogram
Kilogram-force
Mass
Newton (unit)
Pound (mass)
Pound (force)
Standard gravity
Weight

Notes

[1] de Silva, G.M.S. (2002), Basic Metrology for ISO 9000

Certication, Butterworth-Heinemann
[2] National Physical Laboratory: What are the dierences
between mass, weight, force and load? (FAQ - Mass &
Density)
[3] See Mass in special relativity for a discussion of mass in
this context. An object or particle does not have to be traveling very close to the speed of light, c, for its relativistic
mass, M (or m) to measurably vary from its rest mass
m0 . Per the Lorentz transformations and Einsteins 1905
paper, The Special Theory of Relativity, relativistic mass
is 0.5% greater than m0 at only 9.96% c, thus aecting
measurements performed at a precision of one percent.
Whereas 10% the speed of light is exceedingly fast in most
contexts, it is not close to the speed of light.
[4] In professional metrology (the science of measurement),
the acceleration of Earths gravity is taken as standard
gravity (symbol: g ), which is dened as precisely 9.80665
meters per square second (m/s2 ). The expression 1
m/s2 " means that for every second that elapses, velocity
changes an additional 1 meter per second. An acceleration of 1 m/s2 is the same rate of change in velocity as 3.6
km/h per second (2.2 mph per second).
[5] Objects the size of small dust particles, or smaller, are so
strongly inuenced by Brownian motion that they are no
longer inuenced by buoyancy.
[6] Assumptions: An air density of 1160 g/m3 , an average
density of a human body (with collapsed lungs) equal to
that of water, and variations in barometric pressure rarely
exceeding 22 torrs (2.9 kPa). Assumptions primary variables: An altitude of 194 meters above mean sea level (the
worldwide median altitude of human habitation), an indoor temperature of 23 C, a dewpoint of 9 C, and 760
mmHg (101 kPa) sea levelcorrected barometric pressure.

[7] For example, for the recalibration of the US National Prototype Kilogram in 1985, two austenitic stainless steel artifacts were used for comparison. One, named D2, is
similar to 18-8 (type 304) stainless (ie 18% Chromium,
8% Nickel); the other, named CH-1, is a more complex alloy that could be roughly designated as CrNiMo3025-2 (chemical composition is 29.9% Cr, 25.1% Ni,
2.2% Mo, 1.45% Mn, 0.53 Si, 0.2% Cu, 0.07% C,
0.0019% P).Davis, R. N. (1985). Recalibration of the
US National Prototype Kilogram (PDF). Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards (Washington: US Government Printing Oce) 90 (4): p.267.
doi:10.6028/jres.090.015. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
[8] International Recommendation OIML R33, International
Organization of Legal Metrology.
[9] National General Conference on Weights and Measures,
Specications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices, NIST Handbook 44

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