You must have seen two types of balances. A grocer has a balance with two platforms, or pans, and a needle moving on a scale. Some junk dealers (kabadi walas) may be using a spring balance to weigh used newspapers. Suppose the two balances give the same measure for a given body on the earth. Now, you take the balances to moon. Would the two balances give the same measure ? Explain your answer.
No, the two balance would measure different on the moon.
The pan balance measures inertial mass while the spring balance measures gravitational mass or weight of the body. Both masses are equivalent when measured on the earth. But, on the moon the value of 'g' becomes one-sixth of that on the earth. So, spring balance will measure one-sixth of the reading on the pan balance.
