A 543-N physics student stands on a bathroom scale in an 805-kg (including the student) elevator that is supported by a cable. As the elevator starts moving, the scale reads 473 N
A) Find the magnitude of the acceleration of the elevator.
F = 543 - 473 = 79 N down on the student
mass of student = 543/g
a = F/m = 79 / (543/9.81)
= 1.43 m/s^2 down
Not correct but thanks anyway
To find the magnitude of the acceleration of the elevator, we need to use Newton's second law of motion. The formula for this is: F = m * a, where F is the force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration.
In this case, the force F is given by the difference in readings on the bathroom scale, which is 543 N - 473 N = 70 N. The mass m of the elevator plus the student is given as 805 kg.
To solve for the acceleration, rearrange the equation to solve for a:
a = F/m
Substituting the values, we get:
a = 70 N / 805 kg
Calculating this, we find that the magnitude of the acceleration of the elevator is approximately 0.0868 m/s².