Which of the following accurately describes weight?

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Enhance your knowledge for the ASU PHY101 Exam. Prepare with multiple choice questions, flashcards, and explanations. Get exam ready with ease!

Weight is defined as the force exerted on an object due to gravity. To understand why mass times gravitational acceleration is the correct description of weight, we need to consider the fundamental concepts of mass, gravity, and acceleration.

Mass refers to the amount of matter in an object, and it is a scalar quantity that does not change regardless of the object's location in the universe. Gravitational acceleration is the acceleration experienced by an object due to the force of gravity acting on it, and it varies slightly depending on where you are, such as on the surface of the Earth versus on the Moon. On Earth, this acceleration is approximately 9.81 m/s².

The relationship between weight, mass, and gravitational acceleration is expressed in the equation:

Weight (W) = Mass (m) × Gravitational acceleration (g)

This equation explains that weight is directly proportional to both the mass of the object and the acceleration due to gravity. Thus, as the mass increases, the weight increases, and if the gravitational acceleration increases, the weight also increases.

In summary, weight is accurately described as mass times gravitational acceleration because it represents the gravitational force acting on an object's mass, linking the concepts of force, mass, and the acceleration due to gravity in

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