Which statement correctly relates weight, mass, and gravitational acceleration on Earth?

Which statement correctly relates weight, mass, and gravitational acceleration on Earth?

• A. Weight equals mass divided by gravity
• B. Weight equals gravity divided by mass
• C. Weight equals gravity times mass squared
• D. Weight equals mass times gravitational acceleration

Answer: (D)

Weight is the gravitational force acting on a mass, so the relation is W = m g. This means you multiply the mass by the gravitational acceleration to get the weight. On Earth, g is about 9.8 m/s^2, so weight is roughly mass times 9.8. That makes intuitive sense: doubling the mass doubles the weight, and a stronger gravitational pull increases weight proportionally. The units also line up to a force: kilograms times meters per second squared gives newtons. The other forms would not yield a force with the correct units or the same kind of proportionality to mass, so they don’t describe weight correctly.

Weight is the gravitational force acting on a mass, so the relation is W = m g. This means you multiply the mass by the gravitational acceleration to get the weight. On Earth, g is about 9.8 m/s^2, so weight is roughly mass times 9.8. That makes intuitive sense: doubling the mass doubles the weight, and a stronger gravitational pull increases weight proportionally. The units also line up to a force: kilograms times meters per second squared gives newtons. The other forms would not yield a force with the correct units or the same kind of proportionality to mass, so they don’t describe weight correctly.