Understanding Human Weight: Calculation & Key Differences

Weight is force on a given object caused by gravity. In everyday language, weight is sometimes used to refer to the mass of a body. Weight and mass, however, are two separate concepts, as a human body's mass is always the same, while the weight can change depending on your location on Earth. Calculating the weight of a human body (in units of pounds) can be done in general if the mass of the body (in kilograms) is known.

Things You'll Need

• Scale
• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Use a scale to determine the mass of the body. This is usually read directly off the scale. As an example, assume the mass of the object is 50 kilograms.

• 2

  Multiply the mass of the body by 2.2 to calculate the weight in pounds. In the example, 50 kilograms times 2.2 lb. per kilogram equals 110 lb.

• 3

  Multiply the mass of the body by 9.81 to calculate the weight of the body in newtons, which is a more commonly used unit in scientific measurements. For the example, this gives 490.5 newtons. This is the weight of the body in newtons.