Comparing Weights: Heavy and Light
We’ll compare the weights of tennis balls and feathers by placing them at opposite ends of the scale
A tennis ball pushes down on a larger scale than a feather
The side with the tennis ball moves down causing the side with the feathers to move up
Feathers are lighter than tennis balls
No matter how big the object is, the heaviest object moves down the scale
The heaviest object moves the scale down
The lightest objects move upward
Carrots cut the ratio even more than strawberries
How to use “heavier than” or “lighter than” to compare weights
In this lesson, we’ll cover weight and how to compare the weight of two objects
The weight of an object is the force pushing it down
When you hold many different objects, you feel their weight
A balance can be used to compare the weight of two objects
We place a mass at one end of the balance
The weight of the mass pushes down on this end of the scale, so the left side moves down
When teaching your child about weight, it can be helpful to have a set of physical scales to play with so your child can experience how it works for themselves
We don’t need a huge mass to push the scale down
Since there is nothing on one end, if you put anything on the other end, it will weigh on the scale
The pencil pushes down on the left side of the scale, causing this side to move down
In the example below, we place two objects on the scale We will compare the weight of tennis balls and feathers
To compare the weight of two objects, they need to be on different ends of the scale
The side with the tennis ball moves down
This happens because tennis balls press down on the scales more than feathers
We say tennis balls are heavier than feathers
We say tennis balls are heavier than feathers
This means it is harder to lift than a feather
The opposite statement is that feathers are lighter than tennis balls
This means that a feather is easier to lift than a tennis ball
When teaching weight and mass to kids, we can think of them as very similar and use the two words almost interchangeably
The weight of the tennis ball pushes down more than the weight of the feather
The quality of the tennis ball means it is harder to move in any direction
We could try blowing a tennis ball and a feather and see how much easier it is to move the feather
In these introductory examples, we just need to determine which object is heavier by seeing which side of the scale is depressed
In the next example, we’ll compare the weight of a book and a leaf
Moving down on the book side causes the leaf side to move up
The proportions of the book are lower than the leaves
Therefore, the book is heavier than the pages
And the leaf is lighter than the book
Remember that the pages will only move up because the book will move down, pushing one side of the page up
Some children may mistake the lightness of the leaves to cause the scales to move upward
The best way to overcome this misunderstanding is to take the book away and see what happens when the leaf is alone on the scale
If the leaf is alone on the scale, without the book, then the leaf will push one side of it down
It does not cause limescale to rise
The weight of the object can only push down
Objects are always pushed down with their weight
Even feathers and leaves have weight that pushes down
In the last example, we compared the weight of carrots and strawberries
In the last example, we compared the weight of carrots and strawberries
The carrot pushes this side down, causing the strawberry side to move up
Carrots are heavier than strawberries
Carrots are heavier than strawberries
Carrots are heavier than strawberries
Strawberries are lighter than carrots
When teaching and introducing weight to children, it’s important to consider real-life examples so children can connect their understanding to what they’ve already experienced
Simply holding two objects in each hand can be a way to feel and compare their weight
If you don’t have a scale to use for this lesson, you can simply hold the objects and feel which one is harder to lift
However, it is important to explain that this is not always true when comparing different materials