You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator. In which of these situations must the scale read the same as when the elevator is at rest?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: You’re on a bathroom scale inside an elevator. Which scenario will cause the scale to read the same as when the elevator is at rest?

Option 1: Moving up at constant speed. Here, the elevator’s acceleration is zero because velocity is not changing. With no net vertical acceleration, the apparent weight equals the true weight, so the scale reads the same as when stationary. This aligns with the concept that only nonzero acceleration alters the normal force on you.

Option 2: Moving up with increasing speed. This implies a positive upward acceleration. When the elevator accelerates upward, you feel an increased force pushing you into the floor, so the scale reads a value greater than your normal weight. The reading differs from the rest state.

Option 3: In free fall (after the elevator cable has snapped). In free fall, you and the scale (if it’s attached to you, or more precisely, you and the elevator are not providing a contact force) experience weightlessness. The scale would read near zero, which is far from the rest-state reading.

Option 4: Moving up with decreasing speed. This corresponds to a downward acceleration (negative with respect to the upward motion). You would feel lighter, and the scale would read less than your normal weight, not equal to the rest-state reading.

Summary: The only scenario that preserves the same contact force between you and the scale as at rest is zero acceleration, i.e., moving up at constant speed. The other options involve nonzero accelerations that alter the normal force and the scale’s reading.

SPHY001 Graded Quiz 3 (Unit 5 and Unit 6)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

You are standing on a bathroom scale in an elevator. In which of these situations must the scale read the same as when the elevator is at rest?

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