Comparing Weight and Mass Word Problems (teacher made) - Free Printable

Let’s go through each question one by one. We’re comparing masses and weights — remember, on Earth, heavier things weigh more, so we can think of “weighs” as meaning “has more mass.”

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Question 1: Which of the following would weigh the most?
Options: house, Earth, elephant, book
→ Earth is a whole planet! It’s way bigger than a house, elephant, or book.
✔ Earth

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Question 2: Which of the following weighs the least?
Options: car, train, bicycle, shoe
→ A shoe is small and light. A bicycle is heavier than a shoe. A car is much heavier. A train is super heavy.
✔ shoe

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Question 3: Which of the following weighs more than a box of cereal?
Options: apple, newsletter, baby, feather
→ A box of cereal is maybe 1–2 pounds. An apple? Maybe half a pound. Newsletter? Very light. Feather? Super light. A baby? Usually 6–10 pounds at birth — definitely heavier than cereal.
✔ baby

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Question 4: Which pair of items combined weighs the most?
Options:
- moon and a feather → Moon is HUGE (even though it’s far away, its mass is enormous)
- car and a ship → Ship is very heavy, car is heavy too
- skyscraper and a house → Both are big buildings, but not even close to the moon’s mass

Wait — let’s think carefully. The moon has a mass of about 7 x 10^22 kg. Even a huge ship is only around 100,000 tons = 10^8 kg. So moon + feather is still WAY heavier than any other combo.
✔ the moon and a feather

*(Note: This might seem tricky because the feather is light, but the moon is so massive that adding a feather doesn’t change anything — it’s still the heaviest pair.)*

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Question 5: A black stone and a white stone combined weigh the same as a gray stone. Which is heaviest?
Let’s say:
Black + White = Gray
That means Gray alone equals both together. So Gray must be heavier than either Black or White alone.
Example: If Black = 2 lbs, White = 3 lbs, then Gray = 5 lbs → Gray is heaviest.
✔ gray stone

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Question 6: Recipe ingredients — which would you need to weigh on a scale?
Options:
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract → usually measured with spoons, not weighed
- 1.5 pounds of flour → pounds are a unit of weight → needs a scale
- three eggs → counted, not weighed (unless recipe says “by weight,” but here it just says “three”)
✔ 1.5 pounds of flour

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Question 7: Dean weighs himself every day for a month. Each day he weighs a little less. Why?
Possible reasons: He’s eating less, exercising more, losing water weight, etc. But since it says “a little less” each day over a month, it’s likely he’s trying to lose weight intentionally — maybe dieting or working out.
✔ He is trying to lose weight (maybe eating healthier or exercising).

*(Note: There could be medical reasons, but for a school problem, they probably want the simple answer related to lifestyle.)*

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Question 8: What is heavier — 1 pound of feathers or 1 pound of rocks?
This is a classic trick question!
They both say “1 pound.” So they weigh the same. Feathers take up more space, but weight is the same.
✔ They weigh the same.

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Final Answer:
1. Earth
2. shoe
3. baby
4. the moon and a feather
5. gray stone
6. 1.5 pounds of flour
7. He is trying to lose weight (e.g., by eating better or exercising).
8. They weigh the same.