Question

Define the term “weight of a body”.

Answer 1

Hint: The force by which the earth attracts the body towards its centre is called the weight of the body. The weight of the body equals the product of mass and the acceleration due to gravity. This quantity of a body varies from place to place on the surface of the earth.
Formula used:
\[W=mg\]

Complete step by step answer:
The force by which the earth attracts the body towards its centre is called the weight of the body. It is a vector quantity, as it has both magnitude and direction.
The mathematical representation of the same is given as follows.
\[W=mg\]
Where W is the weight of the body, m is the mass of the body and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
The difference between mass and weight

Mass	Weight
The quantity of matter in a body.	The force by which the earth attracts towards its centre.
Mass is a scalar quantity, as it has only magnitude.	Weight is a vector quantity, as it has both magnitude and direction.
The mass of a body is constant everywhere in the universe.	The weight of a body varies from place to place and becomes zero at the centre of the earth and far away from this earth’s surface.
The mass of a moving body equals force by acceleration.	The weight of a body is mass times the acceleration due to gravity.
Using an ordinary balance (beam balance), the mass can be determined.	Using a spring balance, the weight of the body can be measured.
The SI unit of the mass is the kilogram (Kg).	The SI unit of the weight is Newton (N).

\[\therefore \] The force by which the earth attracts the body towards its centre is called the weight of the body.

Note: The weight of the body depends on the acceleration due to gravity. The reason being, the weight of the body varies concerning the effect of acceleration due to gravity, that is, the place where the acceleration due to gravity of the earth is more, at that place, the weight of the body will be more and vice versa.