If there were more people like Mr. Hageman, it would be difficult for politicians to get the job done. In fact, grams and pounds are two different quantities and you should not compare them. Hence, the common practice of referring to these quantities as “pounds” and “grams” is not a good idea.
Let’s define the difference between mass and force.
Mass is a fundamental property of matter. It measures what we call inertia. An object’s inertia is its resistance against changes in its movement. Let’s say you have three identical bricks of lead and you want to throw one as hard as possible. The brick would not resist being thrown, and it would require effort to increase the brick velocity. Your efforts would be twice as effective if you had two bricks joined together. A greater mass equals more resistance to change or inertia.
In the metric system, mass is measured in kilograms (kg) and grams (g), while in the British system it is measured in slugs. This odd unit is not commonly used today.
Now weigh each brick on a scale and you will find that they weigh 10 pounds. The weight of the bricks is measured by the Earth’s gravity pulling on it. The force that gravity exerts upon something is called weight. You can find the brick’s mass by using a balance. Balances cancel out gravity’s effects.
The mass of the Moon is the same, but the weight is six-fold less due to gravity six times stronger there. Although mass and weight are closely related, they are different. Mass is the quantity of matter and weight the force of gravity pulling that matter. A mass of 1 slug would be 32 pounds if it were measured in British units.
If you put 1000g of mass onto your bathroom scale, it would give you a weight reading of 2.2 pounds. You will often see the following: 1000g = 2.2 lbs. Science purists will be annoyed by this equation, as we have equated apples with oranges by setting mass equal force. This is a true equivalence. A 1000g mass on Earth is equivalent to 2.2 pounds. You can find out that 454 grams weighs 1.0 pound (1000 / 2.2) by doing some math!
Grams and pounds are two different things. One is mass, one is force, which is two different quantities. However, 454 grams are equivalent to 1.0 pound on Earth. This means that an object weighing 1.0 lbs contains 454 grams.
