When we think about how heavy something is, we are thinking about its mass. We use units of measurement to describe the mass of objects, such as grams and kilograms.
If we are comparing objects that use the same units of mass, such as kilograms, we can compare the numbers. If we have a dog that weighs $40$40 kilograms, and a cat that weighs $19$19 kilograms, we can compare $40$40 to $19$19. Since $40$40 is a larger number than $19$19, we can say that the dog is heavier than the cat, or that the cat is lighter than the dog.
Let's work through some examples in this video.
When comparing mass, remember to check that you are comparing things using the same unit of measurement.
We want to compare the masses of these animals.
Cat | Mouse | Dog |
Which of these animals is the heaviest?
Mouse
Cat
Dog
Which of these animals is the lightest?
Mouse
Dog
Cat
Which animal is closest in mass to $10$10kg?
Cat
Mouse
Dog
A moth has a mass of $3$3 grams, a butterfly has a mass of $6$6 grams.
Which insect is heavier?
The butterfly.
The moth.
A local primary school had a cupcake sale and the masses of each cupcake are shown:
Cupcake | Mass (grams) |
---|---|
Banana | $91$91 |
Blueberry | $68$68 |
Mud-cake | $89$89 |
Choc-chip | $77$77 |
Which cupcake was closest to $100$100 grams?
Mud-cake
Banana
Choc-chip
Blueberry
Which cupcake is the lightest?
Blueberry
Mud-cake
Banana
Choc-chip
Which are the two heaviest?
Banana
Blueberry
Mud-cake
Choc-chip