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A person weighing 490N stands on a scale in an elevator. What does the scale read (normal force) when the elevator rises at a constant velocity of 5 m/s?

User Windweller
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Answer:

490 N

Step-by-step explanation:

The elevator is rising at constant velocity: this means the acceleration of the system is zero, so according to Newton's second law, the net force on the system is also zero:


F_(net) = ma =0

There are two forces acting on the person standing on the scale:

- its weight, downward, whose magnitude is W=490 N

- The normal force of the scale on the person, N, which is upward

Since the net force must be zero, we have:


W-N=0

From which we find the normal force:


N=W=490 N

User StewartArmbrecht
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