The Difference Between Mass and Weight

There is a common perception that weight and mass are basically the same thing. This video aims to tease out the difference between mass and weight by asking people what makes a car difficult to push. The standard answer is that it is difficult to push because it s heavy. But heaviness is a measure of weight, the gravitational pull of the Earth attracting the car to Earth s center. When the car is pushed on a flat road, the force of gravity does not oppose the motion. Instead the resistance felt is an indication of the car s mass which determines its inertia. Inertia is the property of matter that means it tends to resist acceleration - the greater the mass, the less the acceleration for a given amount of force.