5.2.1

Mass and Inertia

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Mass

The mass of an object is a measure of the amount of matter it contains. The mass of an object is constant. It is the same on Earth, on the Moon and in space.

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Amount of matter

  • An object's mass is a measure of the amount of matter that it contains.
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Inertia

  • An object's mass is also a measure of how difficult it is to change the object's motion.
  • This is called inertia.
  • An object with a high mass has more inertia than an object with a lower mass.
  • It is difficult to move an object with a high mass (and high inertia), and once it is moving, the object’s motion is hard to stop.

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

5.1Basics of Motion

5.2Forces

5.3Effects of Forces

5.4Pressure

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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