Mass is best described as what?

• A. The amount of matter in an object; measured in mg or g.
• B. The weight of an object on Earth.
• C. The volume of an object.
• D. A substance’s color.

Answer: (A)

Mass is the amount of matter in an object. This is an intrinsic property—it stays the same no matter where the object is or what gravity is acting on it. That’s why we measure mass in grams or kilograms (milligrams are used only for very small masses). Weight, on the other hand, is the force of gravity on that mass and can change with location. Volume describes how much space the object occupies, and color is about which wavelengths of light the object reflects. So the best description is that mass is the amount of matter in an object, measured in grams or kilograms.