Weight

Weight is the measure of how strongly gravity pulls on an object. Every object with mass is attracted toward the center of the earth or another planet by the force of gravity. This pull gives things their weight. For example, when you stand on a scale, it shows how strongly Earth’s gravity is pulling you downward.

Weight and mass are related but not the same. mass is how much matter an object has—it does not change no matter where you go. Weight, however, can change because gravity is not the same everywhere. On the Moon, gravity is much weaker than on Earth, so you would weigh less there even though your mass stays the same.

The unit of weight in science is the newton (N), because weight is a type of force. In everyday life, people often use kilograms or pounds to talk about weight, but those are actually units of mass. A spring scale or a force meter can measure weight directly by how much gravity pulls on an object.

Weight acts vertically downward, toward the center of the planet. The stronger the gravitational pull, the greater the weight. This is why planets like jupiter, which have stronger gravity, would make objects weigh much more than they do on Earth. In contrast, objects weigh less on smaller planets or in space, where there is very little gravity.

Weight also affects how things move and feel. It determines how heavy something seems to lift and how fast it falls when dropped. Astronauts in space appear weightless because they are falling around Earth at the same speed as their spacecraft, even though gravity still acts on them.

Understanding weight helps explain many parts of daily life and science—from how scales work to how planets pull objects in space. It reminds us that gravity connects everything that has mass, from tiny pebbles to giant stars.