At the bow of a ship on a stormy sea, a crewman conducts an experiment by standing on a bathroom scale. In calm waters, the scale reads 180 lb. During the storm, the crewman finds a maximum reading of 235 lb and a minimum reading of 132 lb. Find the maximum upward acceleration experienced by the crewman. Find the maximum downward acceleration experienced by the crewman.

1 answer

Upward acceleration increases the apparent weight, as measured by the scale. In this case, the maximum upward acceleration is (55/180)g.

The maximum downward acceleration is (48/180)g