Mass
Definition
Mass refers to the amount of matter an object contains. It is a measure of the inertia or resistance to changes in motion.
Analogy
Think of mass as the "stuff" that makes up an object. Just like how a heavy backpack is harder to move than a light one, objects with more mass require more force to accelerate or decelerate.
Related terms
Weight: Weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity. It depends on both the mass of the object and the acceleration due to gravity.
Inertia: Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. Objects with greater mass have greater inertia.
Density: Density is a measure of how much mass is contained within a given volume. It can be calculated by dividing an object's mass by its volume.
"Mass" appears in:
Study guides (3)
Additional resources (4)
Practice Questions (17)
Sum of the forces = mass * acceleration tells you that the direction of the force and acceleration vectors are
Block A and B are hanging off a pulley. Block A has 1.5 times the mass of block B. The acceleration of the two blocks is approximately...
There is a system of two blocks and a pulley. Block A is hanging off the pulley and has a mass of 5 kg. Block B is resting on a frictionless table and has a mass of 10 kg. Calculate the magnitude of the force of tension acting on block A.
An object of mass m, is accelerated from v0 to v. What is the work done in accelerating the object?
Find the height above sea level of a boxcar with a mass of 22 kg and a potential energy of 440 J.
An object that started from rest has an impulse of 10 Ns when it slides off the edge of a frictionless table. What is this object’s velocity sliding off the table if its mass is 10kg?
Two objects, one of mass 3 kg traveling at 2m/s, and a second with mass 5 kg traveling at 2m/s, collide head-on. If the collision is perfectly inelastic, how fast are the objects moving after the collision?
A block of mass M slides across a frictionless table with a velocity v and collides and sticks with a block of mass 0.5M that was initially at rest. What is the velocity of the two blocks after the collision?
A block with a mass of 20 kg is attached to a spring with a force constant k = 50 N/m. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the block when the spring is stretched 4 m from its equilibrium position?
A block with a mass of 10 kg connected to a spring oscillates back and forth with an amplitude of 2 m. What is the approximate period of the block if it has a speed of 4 m/s when it passes through its equilibrium point?
A weight of mass m is at rest at O when suspended from a spring. When it is pulled down and released, it oscillates between two positions. Which statement about the system consisting of the spring and the mass is correct?
An object of mass 5 kg moves at a constant speed of 6 m/s in a circular path of radius 2 m. Find the net force responsible for its motion.
If we determine the mass of an object using kinetic energy, what type of mass are we determining?
If we determine the mass of an object through its period when attached to a spring, what type of mass are we determining?
What is the radius of a planet if its gravitational field is 7 m/s^2 and has a mass of 1000 x 10^15 kg
A 2 kg mass is attached to the end of a 1m long rope. The mass is swung in a vertical circle using the other end of the rope. If the speed of the mass at the highest point in the circle is 5 m/s, what is the tension in the rope at that point? Assume that gravity is 10 m/s.
An object is subject to a net force of 30 N and experiences an acceleration of 6 m/s^2. What is the object's mass?
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