A 700-N man stands on a scale on the floor of an elevator. The scale records the force it exerts on whatever is on it. What is the scale reading if the elevator has an acceleration of (a) 1.8 m/s^2 up? (b) 1.8 m/s^2 down? (c) 9.8 m/s^2 down?
Please answer all three senarios. Be detailed as possible. Thank you.
2006-11-14 07:38:20 · 1 answers · asked by Katie 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
answer should be in kg
2006-11-14 08:24:34 · update #1
The acceleration of the elevator acts in opposition to gravity. The floor, and thus the scale, provides less normal force if you are accelerating downwards, and more normal force if you are accelerating upwards. Thus, the scale perceives the difference between normal acceleration due to gravity and the artificial acceleration due to the elevator, and weight (or, in this case, measured force) is proportional to acceleration.
a) The total acceleration read by the scale is 9.8 + 1.8 = 11.6 m/s^2. The measured weight would be (11.6 / 9.8)*700 = 828.57 N.
b) The total acceleration read by the scale is 9.8 - 1.8 = 8 m/s^2. The measured weight would be (8 / 9.8)*700 = 571.43 N.
c) The total acceleration read by the scale is 9.8 - 9.8 = 0 m/s^2. The measured weight would be 0 N.
2006-11-14 07:40:21 · answer #1 · answered by DavidK93 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋