Question

During an episode of turbulence in an airplane you feel 170 n heavier than usual. if your mass is 73 kg, what are the magnitude and direction of the airplane's acceleration?

Answer 1

The weight of a 73 kg person is
(73 kg)*(9.8 m/s²) = 715.4 N

When the plane accelerates upward, the inertial force acting on the person
(170 N) makes the person feel heavier.
Therefore the airplanes upward acceleration, a, is given by
(73 kg)*(a m/s²) = 170 N
a = 2.3288 m/s²

Answer: 2.329 m/s², upward.