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This may be a trick question. We often use the terms "weight" and "mass" interchangeably, but we use the term "weight" to refer to mass that is in a gravitational field (and generally the gravitational field of earth).

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If a person weighs 150 pounds, it means that we have used "pound" as a reference, and that involves (or invokes) the effect of the pull of the earth on that person. But that person has mass that is independent of gravitational attraction. A person who has a mass of 150 pounds has that mass no matter where he may be. That person is weightless in deep space where there isn't anything of substance around to exert a gravimetric pull on the person. Mass is present, but there is no weight.

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The earth is not said to have weight. Instead, it has mass, and that mass is a bit short of 1024 kilograms.

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See an answer to a related question, "What is the weight of earth?"

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Why do you weigh more on Jupiter than on Earth?

You would weigh more on Jupiter than on Earth because Jupiter has a much larger mass than Earth, resulting in a stronger gravitational pull. This increased gravitational pull would make you feel heavier on Jupiter compared to Earth.


Why does a person weigh lesser on the moon?

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What is the measure of the earth's gravitational attraction?

A single object doesn't have a gravitational attraction. The gravitational force between two objects is proportional to the product of both of their masses. So the force between the earth and any other object ... like a person ... depends on the mass of the person, just as much as it depends on the earth's mass. You can't tell the strength of the earth's attraction of an object until you know the object's mass. (In other words, you don't know how much a person on earth will weigh until you know something about the person.)


The force that holds things on the ground and determines how much they weigh?

That is called gravity.


What is the gravitational force on the moon?

1.623 newtons per kilogram of mass. That's 16.55% of the gravitational force on Earth.


Does the gravitational attraction on an object increase or decrease with and increase in altitude?

it makes no difference you will still weigh the same


Where would an astronaut weigh the most the moon or earth?

An astronaut would weigh more on Earth than on the moon due to the stronger gravitational pull of Earth. The gravitational force on the moon is about one-sixth that of Earth, so objects weigh less on the moon than on Earth.


Why do you weigh more on earth then on Pluto?

You weigh more on Earth than on Pluto because Earth has a higher gravitational pull than Pluto does.


Explain why the weight of an object is not the same on different points on the earth?

Weight is a measurement of the gravitational attraction of the earth to the mass of a body. Since the mass stays the same wherever the body is, the gravitational attraction must change from location to location. A body weighing 120 grams at sea level, would weigh slightly less as it was moved away from the center of gravity of the earth, for example, up a mountain. It would weigh slightly more the further below sea level it was moved. Suspending (or immersing) a body in water would also change its apparent weight, though this would be a reaction to the bodies buoyancy rather than a change in gravitational attraction. - wjs1632 -


Why are we lighter on the moon?

The moon is much less massive than the Earth, therefore the gravitational attraction of the moon is much weaker (about one sixth).


Why are object heavier on earth than on the moon?

Objects are heavier on Earth than on the Moon due to the difference in gravitational pull between the two. Earth's gravity is stronger than the Moon's, causing objects to weigh more on Earth. Gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the center of the celestial body, and the larger the body, the stronger the gravitational force.


If the mass of the earth stayed the same but it had a radius of 1000 miles. you would weigh more or less?

You would weigh more, because if the earth had a smaller radius, the gravitational force of attraction would be stronger on the surface. Isaac Newton proved that the gravitational force due to a solid sphere (like earth) of mass M is the same as the force due to a point mass M at the center of the sphere. If you have mass m, and are standing on the earth at a radius R from the center, Newton's law of gravitation gives us the force of attraction (or weight) between you and the earth: F = G*m*M/R^2 (G is the gravitational constant) Now, if the earth's radius is decreased from its current radius of approximately 4000 miles to 1000 miles, everything stays constant except for R, which is decreased by a factor of 4. However, because we divide by R^2, the gravitational force would be 4*4=16 times greater! If you weigh 150lbs on earth, now you would weigh 2400lbs!!!