A research balloon of total mass 200 kg is descending vertically with a downward acceleration of 3.2 m/s^2. How much ballast must be thrown from the car to give the balloon an upward acceleration equal to 2.8 m/s^2, presuming that the upward lift of the balloon does not change?

Question

Could someone at least show me the first steps? I don't even know where to begin.

Answer 1

The upward lift is constant, it depends only on the size of the balloon.

netforce= mass*acceleration
Lift-mg=m*a
lift-g(m-deltam)=(m-deltam)*newacc

1)solve for lift in the original equation, knowing m, a, and g.

2) solve for deltamass in the second equation knowing lift, g, m, and the new acceleration.

Answer 2

For lift I got 1320, and for deltamass I got 304.76. Is this right? If so, do I have to add those to the netforce?