How to Teach Geometric Mass to Kids

Teach children how to understand the scientific term known as mass. Mass is how much matter something has. It is not the weight of an object. Use these tips to teach mass to kids. You might just find your children are scientists in the making.

Things You'll Need

• Balance scale
• Objects

Instructions

1. Start your lesson by explaining that mass and weight are not the same things. Mass is how much space something takes up. Weight is how heavy something is.

2. Explain that mass is a term used in food and science. When scientists talk about mass, they are referring to the matter in something. Matter can be heavy or light. Mass means the size of something.

3. Do an experiment. For example, you can take a brick and a block that are the exact same size. The brick would be heavier but the mass of each object is the same because they occupy the same amount of space. They contain the same amount of matter.

4. Look at the two objects. Have the children guess what the mass will be. Write down the guess. Measure the two objects.

5. Report on your findings like they do in science experiments. Have the children determine whether they were correct or not and why.

6. Explain that mass is measured in ounces or pounds unless you use the metric system. Then mass is measured in kilograms.

7. Use a balance beam to measure the mass of an object. In science, mass becomes more complicated because it is combined with other elements like energy and gravitation. Scientists often measure the pull of gravity on mass which is called inertia.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't confuse mass with weight.

Resources

• Mass is a scientific term. This site talks about physics.
• Learn about mass versus weight.