What tools where used to determine the earths mass in the 17th century?
915700
Earth's gravity accelerates objects at a rate of 9.8 m/s/s.  G is the gravitational constant.  You can figure this out by dropping any object, measuring the speed it was moving when it passes a certain point, and how long it took.\n\nForce = G * mass1 * mass2 /distance^2 is the equation that newton came up with explain how gravity worked.\n\nSince the mass of an object on the earth that you would drop to measure this is so small, we can ignore it, so we end up with the equation of \n\n9.8 = (G * Mass of Earth) / (Earth's radius ^2)\n\nThe earth's radius is about 6,360 km.  Convert that into meters and you get 6360000 meters.\n\nThe gravitational constant is a tricky thing to figure out but some guy named Cavendish figured it out.  Read about it http://www.leydenscience.org/physics/gravitation/cavend.htm\n\nNow we know that G = 6.67 x 10^-11 m^3/kg/s^2 so now plug in all the numbers and you get\n\n9.8 = (6.67 x 10^-11 * Earth's Mass) / 6360000^2\n\n6360000^2 = 4.04496 x 10^13\n\nso \n9.8 = (6.67 x 10^-11 * Earth's Mass) / 4.04496 x 10^13\n\nWe want to get Earth's Mass on it's own side so multiply both sides by 4.04496 x 10^13 and you get:\n\n4.04496 x 10^13 * 9.8 = 6.67 x 10^-11 * Earth's Mass\n\nDivide both sides by the gravitational constant of 6.67 x 10^-11 and you get \nEarth's Mass = (4.04496x10^13 * 9.8)/ 6.67 x 10^-11\n\nPlug that all into a scientific calculator and you get for the Earth's mass about\n5.94311964 x 10^24 kilograms\n\nAnd that's how they did it back in the 17th century.  Heh neato I figured out the mass of the earth.  Never did that before.
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Not quite correct.  You would learn essentially the EARTH's mass by watching the moon in its orbit (actually the mass of the Earth + moon combined).  You can learn the MOONs mass most easily aqnd precisely by flying small low mass objects around each of them.  \n\nOur most precise mass estimates of solar system bodies are deduced by the impact they have on things passing near them.  Sometimes nature provides (think about the mass of Jupiter via its satellites) sometimes we do a flybay or closed orbit with a spacecraft. \n\nBy observing the motion, via doppler shifted radio signals from the spacecraft for instance, you get the velocity as a function of time.  From there it is SIMPLE to get the acceleration, and for a small mass a=GM/d^2 where M is the mass of the thing yanking on it. \n\nStars of similar mass in binary systems are trickier, though if you look at enough binary systems involving a star of one stellar type you can deduce the mass of that particular stellar type.\n\nYou can't tell the mass of a solo star directly.  You have to infer it based on the masses of other stars like it and stellar models. You can tell something about a star's  "surface" (photosphere) gravity however by the broadening of spectral lines. If you can then deduce its radius via distance and brightness measurements you can calculate the mass. This method of measuring surface gravity is a bit imprecise.  Don't expect more than one significant figure if that, which is still pretty good for astronomy.\n\nGalactic mass is easy.  Since you get the motions of individual stars  or gas clouds orbiting them, and each star has insignificant mass in comparison to the whole Kahuna, your estimates are much more precise, usually limted by how accurately you  can estimate the distance between the center of mass and the object in question.
626920
Trick question! You can figure the VOLUME of dirt you dig up, but without the density of the dirt, you cannot calculate the mass or weight.
975657
Most American countries use scales to measure an object's weight, or Earth's gravitational pull on it, while most European countries use balances to measure its mass- a measure of the amount of matter in the object. The reason for European countries to measure mass instead of weight is because mass is a more reliable way to measure things, because it doesn't change in relation to your position on Earth.
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If you are talking about the core of the Earth or other planet, it is helpful but not complete. Scientists use other things as well (like sound transmission rates) to analyze the Earth's core. But they were probably the primary creators of the core a long time ago.
267272
The "metric" systems used long ago, or measurement systems used long ago?\n\nThe metric system was developed in France at the end of the 18th century (late 1700s).  They defined their units of measurement originally by physical objects.  Today, we are a bit more advanced with how we define the metric units, only one of them (the kg) is still defined as an actual object's.\n\nBut their were obviously lots more systems of measurement before the metric system.  I dont know too many of the more obscure systems, but their were units of distance such as the "hand" and the "cubit" (you'll see that one used the bible a few times), as well as "stones" for mass.
915631
Thea answer is basic:\nBecause one can measure mass to a higher degree of accuracy than volume.
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The mass of the earth has been calculated as 6 x 10^24 kilograms. (Mass is a little different than weight, but let's not get into that.) Here's a link on how this calculation was done.
91781
Do you mean lattitude and longitude?\n\ntry http://earth.google.com
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http://www.worldometers.info/
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The mass of the planet Earth is 5.97 * 1024 kilograms (from Ask.com)\n\nMass From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\nJump to: navigation, search\nFor other uses, see Mass (disambiguation).\nMass is a property of a physical object that quantifies the amount of matter and energy it contains. Unlike weight, the mass of something stays the same regardless of location. In relativity, the quantity invariant mass, which is closest in content to the classical idea of mass, also does not vary between single observers in different reference frames. Mass is a central concept of classical mechanics and related subjects, and also several forms of mass appear in relativistic kinematics (see mass in special relativity).
36464
Check out this site: http://www.expanding-earth.org/\nSome scientists may dispute the notion that additional solid matter is created from solar energy by photosynthesis in plants and other living organisms, but they should consider coal beds that were formed from trees in the Carboniferous (~360 to ~290 Ma) but are now buried under deep overburden that accreted later. The huge fossilized tree trunks found in the Petrified National Forest near Holbrook in eastern Arizona are additional evidence of mass from solar energy. Also consider the massive deposits of limestone created by marine fauna (fish, coral, bivalves, microfossils, etc.) in earlier epochs and this growth continues today. Today, piles of leaves, wood chips and fallen trees are rapidly converted to soil by nematodes.  The whole question of added mass needs further research to more accurately determine the volume and sources.
399255
go to http://earth.google.com
325473
Measure the weight of 1 cup of sand and figure it from there.\n\n :-)
611057
No, seventeenth century.
199932
The earth's rotation.
370894
England for a start. We use feet, inches, pounds, miles and stone, we're rather resistant to the metric system. America uses some of it I believe with things liek miles and lbs but i think slowly they're turning to metric more and more. The rest of Europe is very strictly metric, leading the way is France