# Mass vs Weight

<mark style="color:$danger;">**This Editorial Guide is used for Education Purposes Only. It is used in the Authoring Courses and Certifications. It is based on the January 2026 Editorial Guide.**</mark>

The Property (qualifier value) hierarchy contains the following:

* 118538004 |Mass, a measure of quantity of matter (property) (qualifier value)|
* 726527001 |Weight (property) (qualifier value)|

Very rarely is the physics definition of *weight* used. When the term *weight* is used, it is most often referring to *mass* , as further demonstrated by the units of measure i.e., grams, kilograms, etc. Unless units specific to the physics definition of weight are specified using Newtons, assume that mass is implied.

To summarize, always use the *mass* qualifier value unless a concept is requested with Newton units that specifically refer to weight.

<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTmbZIf0UEQwYDkY27EEWBkaiYkHSbR0_9DmFrMLXoQLyL7Q/viewform?usp=pp_url&#x26;entry.1767247133=SCT+Editorial+Guide&#x26;entry.670899847=Mass%20vs%20Weight" class="button primary">Provide Feedback</a>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.snomed.org/education/snomed-ct-education-editorial-guide/readme/authoring/domain-specific-modeling/observable-entity/observable-entity-modeling/mass-vs-weight.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.