Author Question: Although the term weight is often used to mean mass, strictly speaking, the two terms are not ... (Read 52 times)

Ebrown · **on:** Jul 15, 2018

Although the term weight is often used to mean mass, strictly speaking, the two terms are not interchangeable. Weight is the force exerted by gravity on an object. Since the Earth is heavier than the Moon, gravity is greater and objects weigh more on Earth. Similarly, the same object weighs even more on the huge planet Jupiter than on Earth. On the other hand, the mass of an object obtained using a balance is constant. This is because gravity operates equally on both pans of the balance, thereby canceling its effect. The mass of an object is therefore constant whether it is measured on Earth, the Moon, or any other planet.

a. comparison-contrast and explanation
b. cause-effect and explanation c. example and explanation

Question 2

Heat and temperature both measure the energy in a solid, liquid, or gas. The distinction is that heat measures the total energy, whereas temperature measures the average energy. To grasp the difference, let's consider a cup of coffee and a teaspoon of coffee that each contain a hot liquid at 100C. What would be more dangerous: drinking the cup of coffee or the teaspoon of coffee? Obviously, an entire cup of coffee is more harmful than a teaspoon. The scientific reason is that the cup of coffee has much more heat than the teaspoon, even though each contains liquid at the same temperature.

a. comparison-contrast and explanation
b. comparison-contrast and example c. definition and explanation