A woman weighs a fish with a spring scale attached to the ceiling of an elevator

Question

A woman weighs a fish with a spring scale attached to the ceiling of an elevator, as shown in the figures. While the elevator is at rest, she measures a weight of 39.5 N.
(a) What weight does the scale read if the elevator accelerates upward at 2.20 m/s2?
N

(b) What does the scale read if the elevator accelerates downward at 2.20 m/s2, as in figure (b)?
N

(c) If the elevator cable breaks, what does the scale read?
N


It also goes on to ask:
Find the initial acceleration of a rocket if the astronauts on board experience nine times their normal weight during an initial vertical ascent. (Hint: In this exercise, the scale force is replaced by the normal force.)
m/s2

Explanation / Answer

Weight at rest = 39.5N mass of the body = 4.03 kg. when the elevator accelerates upwards a)Apparent weight = ( 39.5 + 4.03*2 )N = 47.56N b)Apparent weight = (39.5 - 4.03*2) N = 31.44N c)0 (free fall motion)

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