Knowra Weight Weight Weight is the gravitational force exerted on a body by a nearby astronomical object. Near Earth’s surface, it is approximately the body’s mass multiplied by gravitational acceleration.
Gravitational force : The attractive force between masses, described by Newton's law of universal gravitation and by general relativity. Weight is the gravitational force a nearby astronomical object exerts on a body.
Mass versus weight : The distinction between an object's inertia-measuring mass and the location-dependent gravitational force on it. Weight changes with local gravity, while mass does not in ordinary mechanics.
Weighing scale : An instrument that estimates weight or mass from forces, deformation, or another measurable physical effect. Most scales infer weight from a support force, then often display a mass calibrated for Earth.
Force : An interaction that changes or tends to change an object's motion, represented as a vector quantity. Weight is one particular force, with magnitude and direction.
Mass : A physical quantity measuring an object's inertia and, in Newtonian gravity, its role as a source of gravitational attraction. At a fixed location, greater mass produces proportionally greater weight.
Apparent weight : The support force or scale reading experienced by an object, which can differ from its gravitational force. A scale can read zero during free fall even while gravity still gives the body weight.
Free fall : Motion in which gravity is the only significant force acting on a body. A freely falling body retains gravitational weight but has no supporting force.
Newton (unit) : The SI unit of force, equal to one kilogram metre per second squared. Weight is measured in newtons rather than kilograms.
Gravitational acceleration : The acceleration a freely falling body experiences because of gravity at a particular location. Near a planet's surface, weight equals mass times local gravitational acceleration.
Normal force : A contact force exerted by a surface perpendicular to that surface. A resting support balances weight, but the normal force is not itself weight.
Show all 22