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Weight of a Person Riding in an Elevator


	If you stand on a scale in an elevator accelerating upward, you feel heavier because the elevator's floor presses harder on your feet, and the scale will show a higher reading than when the elevator is at rest. On the other hand, when the elevator moves downward, you feel lighter. The force exerted by the scale is known as apparent weight.


	Contributed by: Enrique Zeleny
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Applying Newton's second law, the equation to link acceleration and net force is

, where

is your weight,

is your weight measured on the scale (the usual force), and

is the net force.

Snapshot 1: the elevator accelerates upward; you feel heavier

Snapshot 2: the elevator is at rest; the scale shows your actual weight

Snapshot 3: the acceleration of the elevator is downward and equal to the acceleration due to gravity; you and the elevator can be considered to be in free fall, because the scale does not exert any force

Force (ScienceWorld)

Mass (ScienceWorld)

Newton's Second Law (ScienceWorld)

Normal Force (ScienceWorld)

Weight (ScienceWorld)

"Weight of a Person Riding in an Elevator" from The Wolfram Demonstrations Project
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/WeightOfAPersonRidingInAnElevator/

Contributed by: Enrique Zeleny

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