Which property remains constant regardless of location in a gravitational field?

• A. Mass
• B. Weight
• C. Volume
• D. Density

Answer: (A)

The key fact is that mass stays the same no matter where you are in a gravitational field. It’s a measure of how much matter an object contains and doesn’t depend on gravity or location. Weight, by contrast, is the gravitational force acting on that mass, so it changes with the strength of the local gravity (you’d weigh less on the Moon than on Earth, even though your mass is the same). Volume is the amount of space an object occupies, which can be affected by pressure or deformation in different gravity environments for some materials. Density is mass per volume, so it can change if the volume changes while the mass stays constant. Therefore, mass is the property that remains constant.