Apparent Weight in an Elevator – Rankers Physics
Topic: Laws of Motion
Subtopic: Pseudo Force

Apparent Weight in an Elevator

A moongphaliwala sells his moongphali using a weighing machine in an elevator.
Assertion (A): He gains more profit if the elevator is accelerating up.
Reason (R): The apparent weight of an object increases in an elevator while accelerating upward.
(1) Both (A) & (R) are true and the (R) is the correct explanation of the (A)
(2) Both (A) & (R) are true but the (R) is not the correct explanation of the (A)
(3) (A) is true but (R) is false
(4) Both (A) and (R) are false

Solution:

Assertion (A) is true: If the elevator accelerates upwards, the apparent weight \(N = m(g+a)\) of the peanuts increases. If the moongphaliwala sells by the apparent weight reading (e.g., "1 kg" on the scale), they would be selling a *smaller actual mass* \(m_text{actual} = N/(g+a)\) for the same indicated weight. Thus, they gain more profit.


Reason (R) is true: When an elevator accelerates upwards, the normal force (apparent weight) on an object of mass \(m\) is \(N = m(g+a)\), which is greater than its actual weight \(mg\). Reason (R) correctly explains why the apparent weight increases, leading to the profit gain described in (A).

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