Final answer:
Weight can be practically defined as how heavy an object feels, which is a measure of the gravitational pull it experiences. It can change with location due to variations in gravitational forces, unlike mass, which remains constant.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rather than defining weight strictly as the force of gravity that acts on an object, it can be more practically described as how heavy an object feels or how much it presses down on a surface or a scale. Weight is directly related to the gravitational pull the object experiences. Therefore, weight can also be viewed as the measure of the gravitational force acting on an object, which would be read on a scale. This measurement directly corresponds to the force exerted by the object due to gravity and is what we experience as heaviness. The practical aspect of this definition allows us to easily measure weight using a scale, which shows weight changes depending on where it is measured (because of differences in gravitational force in different locations).
Weight and mass are closely related but are not the same thing. Mass is a measure of how much matter an object contains and doesn't change based on location. Weight, on the other hand, can change when the force of gravity changes, such as when moving from Earth to the Moon. Thus, an astronaut's mass remains constant, but the weight would vary depending on the celestial body they are on, due to the differences in gravitational pull.