| English | Mass |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Melayu | Jisim |
| 中文 | 质量 |
Definition
The amount of matter in an object; a scalar quantity measured in kilograms (kg), and a measure of its inertia.
In exam terms
Mass is the amount of matter in an object. It is a scalar quantity with symbol m and SI unit the kilogram (kg), and it is also a measure of the object's inertia.
Mass stays the same wherever the object is taken, on Earth, on the Moon, or in space.
For example, a bag of rice labelled 5 kg has a mass of 5 kg on Earth and still 5 kg on the Moon. Mass is measured with a balance that compares the object against known masses.
Do not confuse it with weight
Do not confuse mass with weight. Mass is a scalar in kilograms and is constant; weight is the gravitational force on that mass, a vector in newtons given by weight = mass × gravitational field strength (W = mg).
So a 5 kg object has a weight of about 50 N on Earth but only about 8 N on the Moon.
In Paper 2 this is asked as state the difference between mass and weight, so contrast scalar versus vector, kilogram versus newton, and constant versus varying with location.
Source: DSKP KSSM Physics Form 4 and 5 (Versi English) (Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK), KPM)