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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