Mass And Science
Mass And ScienceMass is the amount of matter in an object. When you record mass the unit you use is grams. A medium sized leaf is about 1 gram, a potato chip 2 grams. A larger unit of mass is a kilogram. A kilogram is about the mass of a medium sized textbook. You need a balance to find mass. There are many kinds of balances.
The gram is the unit used to measure mass. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object. Mass is different from weight. Weight is the measure of gravitational pull. Your weight on the moon is less because there is not a strong gravitational pull. Mass, on the other hand, is the same anywhere in the universe. Mass is measured with a balance. One balance is a double pan balance that works like a sea saw.
Matter
Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object. Both living and nonliving things are made up of matter. Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. Most matter on earth exists in three states: liquids, solids, and gas. All matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. An atom is the smallest unit of matter that can exist and still be recognized. You and all the things around you are made of matter.
Since we all live at the surface of the earth where the acceleration of gravity is relatively constant, it has been natural for us to confuse the concepts of mass and weight. To study the difference, we need to separate these two "parameters." We could either leave the earth's gravitational field so that we would have no weight, or create an experimental situation where weight is not a factor. An easy way to do this is to use floating objects. Floating objects still have all their mass, and move almost friction-free in still water, but we don't notice their weight since the water supports (opposes) it. A small block of wood floating in water can be pushed back and forth...
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