Tobias tosses his keys straight up. For an instant at the top, they hang motionless, touching nothing. Is any force acting on them at that moment?
Follow the keys through the whole toss and watch one force the entire time.
The keys rest on Tobias's palm: the Earth pulls them straight down. That pull is the keys' weight.
The keys rise through the air: the Earth still pulls them straight down. The weight is still there.
The keys hang at the very top, motionless for an instant: the Earth still pulls them straight down. Weight does not switch off.
The keys fall: the same downward pull from the Earth.
The pattern: the Earth's pull needs no contact. The weight force acts on an object wherever it is near Earth, held, flying, or falling. And the weight force always points straight down.
A kicked football is halfway through its flight, touching nothing. Which statement describes the force from the Earth on it?
A coin lies still on a desk. Does a weight force act on the coin?
One boundary: weight is the Earth's pull only. The upward push holding the keys on the palm comes from the palm, a different force, not weight.
So in any scene, spot the weight like this: it is there, once, it points straight down, and the Earth exerts it.
A sled slides down a snowy hill. Which way does the sled's weight point?
A basketball is at the very top of its arc after a free throw. Name the weight force on it in full.
Weight acts on an object wherever it is near Earth, touching or not.
The Earth exerts it, and it points straight down.
The Earth pulls the basketball straight down: that pull is the ball's weight, acting even at the top of the arc.
A fern hangs from a porch hook. Does a weight force act on the fern, and which way does it point?
Hanging changes nothing about the Earth's pull.
The weight is there, pointing straight down.
Yes. The Earth pulls the fern straight down; that pull is the fern's weight.
A juggling ball is at the very top of its toss, motionless for an instant and touching nothing. Which statement about forces on it is correct?
Which object exerts the weight force on a hanging lamp?
A grocery bag rests on a kitchen counter. One downward force and one upward force act on it. Which one is the bag's weight?