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Mass

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Mass is, informally, the amount of material in an object. It is one of the core concepts of physics, especially mechanics.

Contents

Formal Definition

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter a physical body contains. Mass is often confused with weight, but is not the same. While weight is a measure of the gravity on a body, mass is the amount of matter. Note that in a standard gravitational field, mass is directly proportional to weight.

Units of Measure

  • The SI unit for mass is the gram.
  • The imperial system has no measure for mass, as at the time it was popularized, the distinction between mass and weight had not been popularized.

Related Formulae

  • Momentum is calculated by , where is momentum, is mass, and is velocity.
  • Thermal energy is calculated by , where is the thermal energy, is mass, and is heat.

See Also

Want to learn how to tackle those tough MATHCOUNTS and AMC counting and probability problems? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Counting & Probability by David Patrick.
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