Final answer:
The normal force on a stone at the bottom of a swimming pool equals its apparent weight, represented by the product of its mass and gravitational acceleration (mg), excluding buoyancy considerations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is about the normal force exerted by a surface, in this case, the bottom of a swimming pool, on an object resting on it, which is a large stone. The normal force is a concept in physics that describes the force perpendicular to the surface an object is resting on.
When the stone is on the non-accelerating horizontal surface of the pool's bottom, this normal force is equal to the stone's apparent weight in the water, which might differ from its weight in air due to the buoyancy effect. However, if we are to ignore buoyancy and other forces such as water resistance, the normal force (N) would be equal to the weight of the stone (mg).
If we consider the buoyant force acting on the stone, the normal force would be the weight of the stone minus the buoyant force. The actual question seems to imply that this is not to be taken into account. Thus, under the assumption of no other forces at play, the normal force is calculated as the product of the mass of the stone (m) and the gravitational acceleration (g), which is denoted as mg. The normal force counteracts the gravitational force, allowing the stone to rest without sinking through the pool bottom.