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Can we apply the mass as a volume to elements when performing dynamic analysis? After applying the mass do we need to define an analysis step specifically for mass to be activated?

Masses for solid elements are already obtained from the mass density in the material integrated over the element volume.
Additionally, you can assing additional masses (Volume Mass in your case, so input as mass per unit volume).
In both cases, masses are applied when the node is built. They are not like loads, which need to be explicitly activated using a loadPattern