If a 150 pound man walks onto an elevator. Suddenly it rises rapidly from the 1st to 14th floor. if the man steps onto a scale in the elevator during the rapid rise, he would weigh...
A) 150 pounds
B) More than 150 pounds
C) Less than 150 pounds
Please explain, thank you.
To determine the man's weight when he steps onto a scale in the elevator during the rapid rise, we need to understand the concept of weight and the forces acting on the man and the scale.
Weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity. On Earth, weight is usually measured in pounds or kilograms. The weight of an object depends on its mass and the acceleration due to gravity.
In this scenario, the elevator is rapidly rising from the 1st to the 14th floor. The key point to note is that the elevator is accelerating upward during this time. When an object accelerates in a particular direction, there is an additional force experienced due to that acceleration.
According to Newton's second law of motion, the force acting on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. In this case, the man's mass is constant (150 pounds), but the elevator's upward acceleration would cause an additional force acting on the man.
This additional force would be equivalent to the man's mass multiplied by the elevator's acceleration. Since the elevator is accelerating upward, the additional force acting on the man would also be directed upward.
As a result, when the man steps onto the scale, he would register a weight that is greater than his actual weight. This means the correct answer to the question is:
B) More than 150 pounds.