The Direction of Weight
Weight is just a force, and like any other force, weight always has a direction. When an object is at or near the surface of the earth, its weight always points downward toward the center of the earth. |
Try out the "Mass and Weight Self-Quiz" below to see what you know about the two concepts.
Mass and Weight Self-Quiz
Scroll to the top of the page and read before attempting the quiz.
- True or false? Your mass depends on your location.
- True
- False
- True or false? Your weight depends on your location.
- True
- False
- True or false? The only difference between mass and weight is the SI units used.
- True
- False
- True or false? Your weight is inversely proportional to your mass.
- True
- False
- True or false? For an object which remains on the surface of the earth, an increase in mass results in an increase in weight.
- True
- False
- True or false? An objects' weight is equal to its mass multiplied by the square of the acceleration due to gravity.
- True
- False
- True or false? Mass is a vector quantity.
- True
- False
- True or false? Weight is a vector quantity.
- True
- False
- True or false? The SI unit for mass is the gram.
- True
- False
- True or false? The SI unit for weight is the Newton.
- True
- False