What is Mass?
Answer – Mass is the measure of the amount of matter in an object. It is a fundamental physical property, and the mass of an object remains constant, regardless of location and speed (except if the object is travelling at a speed equal to greater than that of light).
Explanation:
A fundamental property of all matter, mass is one of the elementary concepts of physics. The mass of an object is determined by the number, type and density of the atoms that make it up.
The SI unit for measuring mass is gram (g).
The terms “mass” and “weight” are often used interchangeably. However, in physics, they are two different concepts. Weight is the force that gravity exerts on a body. It changes depending on where the body is. However, mass is a constant property. It remains the same, whether the object is on a mountain, at sea-level or even on the moon.
Popular Questions
- The figure above shows the forces exerted on a block that is sliding on a rough horizontal surface: The weight of the block is 500 N, the normal force is 500 N, the frictional force is 100 N, and there is an unknown force F exerted to the right. The acceleration of the block is 0.4 m/s2. The value of F is most nearly?
- Block X of mass M is attached to block Y of mass 2M by a light string that passes over a pulley of negligible friction and mass, as shown above. In which direction will the center of mass (COM) of the two-block system move after it is released from rest, and what is the magnitude of the acceleration a of block X ?