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You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator when suddenly the cable breaks and the elevator falls freely down the shaft. How does the reading on the scale change from just before to just after the cable breaks? Hlow does the force of gravity that Earth exerts on you change over the same time interval?

Name: Problem 18, Chapter 5: Physics: A Conceptual World View
Uploaded: 2020-06-11T20:13:00-08:00
Duration: 1 min 6 s
Channel: Mayukh Banik
Description: You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator when suddenly the cable breaks and the elevator falls freely down the shaft. How does the reading on the scale change from just before to just after the cable breaks? Hlow does the force of gravity that Earth exerts on you change over the same time interval?

   You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator when suddenly the cable breaks and the elevator falls freely down the shaft. How does the reading on the scale change from just before to just after the cable breaks? Hlow does the force of gravity that Earth exerts on you change over the same time interval?

Physics: A Conceptual World View

Larry D.… 7th Edition

Chapter 5, Problem 18

Instant Answer

Solved by Expert Mayukh Banik

06/11/2020

Step 1

The force exerted by the scale on you (F_s) is equal to the force of gravity on you (mg), where m is your mass and g is the acceleration due to gravity. Therefore, the reading on the scale is your actual weight. Show more…

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You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator when suddenly the cable breaks and the elevator falls freely down the shaft. How does the reading on the scale change from just before to just after the cable breaks? Hlow does the force of gravity that Earth exerts on you change over the same time interval?

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Key Concepts

Gravitational Force

This is the attractive force exerted by the Earth on objects. It remains nearly constant near the Earth's surface regardless of the object's motion. Therefore, even when the apparent weight drops to zero during free-fall, the gravitational force acting on you does not change significantly.

Free Fall

Free fall occurs when the only acceleration acting on an object is due to gravity. In this state, all parts of the system are accelerating equally, causing the normal forces to vanish, which in turn leads to a sensation of weightlessness, even though the gravitational force is still present.

Apparent Weight

This is the reading you see on a scale, which represents the normal force exerted by the scale on you. In everyday situations, it equals your true weight, but when you are in free-fall, such as in a falling elevator, the apparent weight becomes zero because there is no contact force acting upward against gravity.

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