Mass and matter??

Question

can someone please explain the difference between matter and mass..like during a chemical reaction..the mass can change but does the matter? and if not why and how

Answer 1

matter is the state of the substance. mass is how much space it takes up. the mass will not change, however it will changed forms of matter from liquid to solid or gas

Answer 2

Matter is something which has mass. Mass is the term used to describe how much matter there is. In a chemical reaction, the nature of matter can change. For example molecules can break down into there component elements. Often, energy is also released which would explain any change in mass.

Answer 3

You'll get a better idea from reading the references.  Mass is a property of matter (and antimatter).  Matter is a less precise, more ambiguous term.  For example, W and Z bosons have mass but are generally not considered matter.  Inertial and gravitational mass both have a precise meaning.

Chemical reactions involve only fermionic matter, and everyone agrees it's appropriate to call that matter.  But in a chemical reaction, the fermions themselves don't change, and mass doesn't change.

Answer 4

Ok, here's how it goes:

Matter is...stuff. Anything that exists is matter.

Mass is trickier, but it is essentially it's just the AMOUNT of matter.

So, Mass is to Matter the same way Temperature is to Heat

*On a side note, mass and weight are totally different things.

Mass= measure of matter

Weight= measure of gravity's pull (you weight 180lbs on Earth but 30lbs. on the moon because the gravity is higher here than on the moon)