What is the measure of the force of gravity on an object called?

• A. Mass
• B. Weight
• C. Volume
• D. Density

Answer: (B)

Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object. It’s a force that depends on how much mass the object has and how strong gravity is in that location. We express it as W = m × g, so on Earth where gravity is about 9.8 m/s^2, the weight is roughly mass times 9.8. On the Moon, gravity is weaker, so the same mass weighs less. This is different from mass, which is the amount of matter and doesn’t change with location; volume is how much space an object takes up, and density is how much mass is packed into that volume. So the measure of gravity’s pull on an object is weight.