Name _________________________________________________________ Room ____________
MEASURING WEIGHT AND MASS CLASS NOTES
Mass- amount of matter the object has. An object with greater mass is heavier than an object with
less mass.
Matter - anything that takes up space (volume) and has mass.
Weight- how heavy an object is. Weight is created by the pull of gravity. It measures how strongly
gravity pulls the object towards Earth’s center. An object’s weight is related directly to its mass.
Weight and mass seem very similar, but in fact they are different. For example, the moon is onequarter the size of Earth. Thus, the moon’s gravity is less than Earth’s gravity. As a result, your weight
on the moon is less than your weight on Earth. However, your mass remains the same. Why is this?


MASS
Always remains constant
Does not depend on gravity
vs.
WEIGHT
Depends on gravity (weight of an object changes if
gravity changes)
Mass is measured in grams (1 gram= 1peanut) and kilograms (1 kilogram= 1 baseball bat).
 1,000 grams = 1kilogram

Different scales are used to measure kilograms and grams
Bathroom Scale
measures
kilogram.
Kitchen
scale
measures
gram and kilogram.
Balance Scale measures
grams.
Class Work:
1. Matter is defined as anything that takes up space and has
A. mass
B. texture
C. odor
D. color
2. Mass measures
A. the amount of space something takes up.
B. the amount of matter in an object.
C. quality or power belonging specially to something.
3. The measure of the pull of gravity from a planet on the mass of an object describes an object’s…
A. density
B. buoyancy
C. mass
D. weight
4. Which has the most mass?
A. penny
B. maple leaf
C. elephant
D. basketball
5. Which tool should a student use to compare the masses of two small rocks?
A. balance
B. hand lens
C. ruler
D. measuring cup
6. Which metric units should be used to describe the mass of an object?
A. centimeters
B. liters
C. grams
D. degrees Celsius
7. Which of the following measurements is most likely the mass of a pencil?
A. 10 centimeters
B. 17 kilograms
C. 17 millimeters
D. 10 grams
8. Two objects of the same mass are
going to be placed the same distance
from the support of a balance beam.
Which diagram
shows where the
support should be
placed under the
beam so the
objects will
balance? _C_
10. Which of these is the most accurate
reading of the mass of the rock on the
balance scale pictured?
A. 33 g
B. 120.3 g
C. 123 g
D. 303 g
9. The diagram shows four blocks placed on sides A and
B of a lever. The mass of each block is shown.
Explain why side A of the
lever is lower than side
B.
_Side A has 4 more ___
_grams than side B_____
Explain how the four blocks can be rearranged on the lever so
that it will be balanced. Make it balanced by moving 2 grams
from Side A to Side B so that both sides have 7 grams._
11. The diagram shows a balance. Side A has five
blocks and side B has three blocks. The mass of each
block is shown in grams (g).
How much greater
is the mass of the
blocks on side A
than the mass of
the blocks on side
B?
A. 50 g
B. 100 g
C. 150 g
D. 200 g
12. Tara put an ice cube in a jar, put the lid on the jar, and then placed
the jar on a scale. The jar and the ice cube weighed 3 units as shown in
Diagram A above. Tara came back one hour later and the ice cube had
melted. Draw an arrow on Diagram B below to show the weight of the
jar and melted ice cube. Explain why the weight did or did not change.
The weight did not change because Tara placed a lid on the jar._
The lid kept the water from evaporating when the ice cube melted.
The amount of mass did not change when ice changed from solid
to a liquid so gravity was pulling the same amount of mass._
13. Amanda studied the mass gain in chickens for her science project.
Which of these is the mass of this chicken?
A. 2 kg
B. 3 kg
C. 5 kg
D. 7 kg
14. List the three fruits in order from the least
mass to the greatest mass
_apple___
_orange__
_pear____
Name _____________________________________________________________ Room _______
Measuring Mass HW
1. Volume and mass are properties of
A. friction
B. light
C. matter
D. sound
2. A student wants to compare the masses and volumes of three marbles. Which two instruments
should be used?
A. Balance and graduated cylinder
C. Graduated cylinder and centimeter ruler
B. Centimeter ruler and thermometer
D. Thermometer and balance
3. Which unit of measurement should be used to describe the mass of an apple?
A. gram
B. liter
C. minute
4. Which
of the
instruments
shown is
used to
measure
mass?
Letter
_______
5. The diagram
below shows five
boxes labeled A, B,
C, D, and E. The
mass of each box is
shown.
Write the letter of the
box that is under the
box with a mass of
700 grams. _____
D. meter
6. What is the mass of this
mineral?
A. 5 grams
B. 10 grams
C. 15 grams
D. 20 grams
6. Based on the picture, the
bag of leaves has….
A. less mass than the pebble
B. the same mass as the
pebble
C. the same volume as the
pebble
D. less volume than the
pebble
8. The diagram below shows a
solid piece of chocolate before
it was melted and the same
piece of chocolate after it was
melted into a liquid.
Which
property
of the
piece of chocolate is the same
in the two diagrams?
A. mass
C. temperature
B. shape
D. texture
9. Three properties of a block of
wood are listed in the chart
below. Identify one scientific tool
that can be used to measure
each property. The tool used to
measure weight is shown.
10. Which item below would
have a mass closest to that of
a thumbtack?
________
11. The diagram shows four blocks on a balance beam. All four
blocks have the same mass.
How can the four blocks
shown be rearranged on the
beam so side A and side B
will balance?
______________________
______________________
Give one observation that shows side A has more mass on it.
______________________________________________________________________________