Question

A fish hangs from a spring scale supported from the roof of an elevator. a) if the elevator has an upward acceleration of 1.2 m/s^2 and the scale reads 200 N, what is the true force of gravity on the fish? b) under what circumstances will the scale read 150 N? c) what will the scale read if the elevator cable breaks?

Answer 1

solve for mg:
200=mg(9.8+1.2)

b. 250=mg(9.8-a) solve for a using mg from a).

c. cable breaks, it is in free fall, scale=0