Your mass is the same but your weight varies with the force of gravity
This is a correct statement, Hazel, but I don't think it directly (although it does implicitly) answers your question, which was:
How can you weigh the same when the gravity is different? I am remembering the astronaut who demonstrated how much lighter he was on the moon.
The answer is you can't. Like Popeye said: If the gravity is different, then your weight will change.
You probably know all this already, but I'll try to elaborate just in case it's not clear to you.
I know you don't care for math, so I'll try to avoid it.
MASS: This is oversimplified, but let's just say that mass in the amount of matter in your body--bones, blood, hair, toes, whatever. That doesn't change if you get on an airplane, or go to the moon for that matter. So mass remains constant.
GRAVITY: All mass "attracts" other mass. This changes with circumstances. How much "pull" gravity exerts on a body (mass) depends on two things: 1) distance and (2) quantity. (1) The closer you are to a massive object, the more "force" (attraction) it exerts on you. (2) The more massive (bigger) an object is, the more force it exerts on you. The attraction is mutual, so the bigger you are, the more the total overalll attraction between you and another body of mass will be.
So, if you go to the moon, your body (mass) doesn't change, but the size of the object attracting you does change. The moon is much less massive than than the earth.
WEIGHT: Standing on a scale kinda "measures" how much the earth (or moon, or other object) is attracting you. The reason a fat person weighs more than a skinny one is that they have more mass. This increases the "mutual attraction" between the two bodies (i.e., between the fat person and the earth).
So if you go to the moon, your mass is unchanged, but your "weight" does change.. The moon is not "pulling" on you as much as the earth would, so you weigh less there. You can jump higher because the moon doesn't "pull you back down" as much (or as fast) as the earth would.
Edited by Moronium, 09 April 2019 - 10:47 AM.