What is mass?

What is mass?

• A. Anything that occupies space and has mass
• B. The rate of change of velocity
• C. The energy contained in a system
• D. The quantity of matter

Answer: (D)

Mass is the quantity of matter in an object. It tells you how much material there is and stays the same regardless of location or gravity, unlike weight. Mass is linked to inertia—the more mass, the more the object resists changes in motion. The other ideas describe acceleration or energy, not mass, and while matter does occupy space, mass specifically measures how much matter there is.

Mass is the quantity of matter in an object. It tells you how much material there is and stays the same regardless of location or gravity, unlike weight. Mass is linked to inertia—the more mass, the more the object resists changes in motion. The other ideas describe acceleration or energy, not mass, and while matter does occupy space, mass specifically measures how much matter there is.