Mass is an intrinsic property of a body that quantifies the amount of matter it contains and is a fundamental measure of inertia, which is the resistance of an object to changes in its velocity when a force is applied
. It determines how much an object resists acceleration and also influences the strength of its gravitational attraction to other bodies
. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg) in the International System of Units (SI), and unlike weight, mass remains constant regardless of location or gravitational force
. Weight is the force exerted on an object by gravity, so it varies depending on where the object is (for example, Earth versus the Moon), but the mass itself does not change
. There are two main concepts of mass:
- Inertial mass : the measure of an object's resistance to acceleration when a force is applied
- Gravitational mass : the measure of how an object interacts with gravitational fields
In modern physics, mass is more complex than just the amount of matter; it is related to fundamental particles and their interactions, such as with the Higgs boson, which gives particles their mass
. In summary, mass is a fundamental physical property representing the quantity of matter and the inertia of an object, measured in kilograms, and distinct from weight, which depends on gravity
