A 59kg person is standing on a scale in an elevator. If the elevator accelerates upward at a rate of 2m/s2, what mass will the scale read (in other words, what is the apparent mass of the person in kg)?
Answers
Answer:
A 35 kg person stands on a scale.
a.) What would be the scale readout?
(How does this compare with the person's weight?)
b.) If the person stands on the scale in an elevator accelerating upwards at 7 m/s2
, what is the scale readout?
(How does this compare with the person's weight?)
c.) If the person stands on the scale in an elevator accelerating downwards at 7 m/s2
, what is the scale
readout?
(How does this compare with the person's weight?)
d.) If the person stands on the scale in an elevator accelerating downwards at 9.8 m/s2
, what is the scale
readout?
(How does this compare with the person's weight?)
e.) Explain why your result from part d makes sense. Is the actual weight of the person any different? What
does the person perceive his weight to be?
f.) If the person stands on the scale in an elevator moving up at a constant speed of 100 m/s, what is the
scale readout?
(How does this compare with the person's weight?)
Explain why during most of the time during an elevator ride, a person will perceive nothing unusual.