Mass

We explain what mass is and how this magnitude can be measured. Also, some examples and their relationship with volume.

What is dough?

Mass is a scalar quantity commonly used in physics and chemistry, which expresses the amount of matter in an object or body.

It should not be confused with weight, which represents the intensity with which a body is attracted by a gravitational field, or with the amount of substance, which in chemistry designates the proportion of the substances that make up a compound.

Mass is an important variable in the calculation of numerous relationships and interactions in all scientific fields so it is part of most of the mathematical formulas that describe them.

All objects have mass, whether they are in a solid, liquid or gaseous state. The more atoms there are in a body, the greater its mass.

For a long time it was held that the amount of mass in the universe was uniform and invariable, since mass, like energy, cannot be destroyed or built but rather reduced to its most basic components, which a long time ago was believed to be atoms.

All matter is made of various atoms from a finite set, but organized in different ways. However, thanks to Einstein's studies and the development of quantum physics in the 20th century, Today we know that atoms can “break” and that part of their masses is transformed into energy as described by the famous formula of Relativity: E = m. C², where AND It is energy, m It is mass and c the speed of light.

See also: Mol

How is mass measured?

The International System of Weights and Measures (SI) maintains that The unit for measuring mass is the kilogram (kg) along with its derived units such as gram, milligram, etc. To measure the mass of a body, scales are used, whether traditional pan scales or modern electronic ones.

Examples of dough

The mass of most objects can be calculated in various ways. Mass can be deduced from its movement and acceleration, or from its gravitational attraction, or through instruments. Thus, we have calculated the masses of:

• The Sun 1.9891 x 10³⁰ kg.
• Saturn 5.6846 x 10²⁶ kg.
• The Earth 5.9736 x 10²⁴ kg.
• The Moon. 7,349 x 10²² kg.
• An unmanned commercial aircraft Around 178,000 kg.
• A sports car About 1000 kg.
• An astronaut suit 130 kg.
• An average 30-year-old man 73 kg.
• An old television About 30kg.
• A poodle dog 15 kg.
• A bicycle About 6kg.
• A hammer More or less 1 kg.

mass and volume

Both mass and volume are general properties of matter but the latter refers, instead of the amount of matter in a body, to the amount of physical space it occupies.

The volume is usually calculated by submerging a body (solid or gaseous) and measuring the increase in the water level, so its standard measurement unit is the cubic meter (m).³) although the use of liters (l) or milliliters (ml) is also common.

In the case of liquids, simply pour them into a graduated container.

See more: Volume