This study attempted to ascertain if the elements perceived in the physics concepts of mass and weight differed for students of different cultural backgrounds. Responses of two matched groups of 19 students each, one from the United States and the other from Taiwan, were studied; students were given word association tests and a physics problem set and were asked to rank the level of importance of conceptual elements. Results of the analysis of characteristics of conceptual elements showed no significant differences for students within the same culture. The understandings of the concepts of weight and mass by the two groups were comparable, and the importance of problem-related conceptual elements was perceived similarly by both groups. Significant differences between groups were found for the word association tests, with Taiwan students associating more physical science and problem-related conceptual elements with the stimulus words "mass" and "weight." Findings also showed that Taiwan students were more influenced by the problem set, were less divergent in their responses to the stimulus work "mass," and showed more memorization than did the students from the United States. (Author/DT)