Apparent Weight

The weight of an object is the force of gravity on the object. Weight is the force that
makes most ordinary objects fall to the ground. Near the surface of the earth, weight is
directed toward the center of the earth (downward) and its magnitude is ma where m is
the mass of the object and a is the acceleration of gravity (about 9.80 m/s2 ).
Example Suppose a box of mass 5.0 kg is resting on the floor. Gravity is applying a
force of (5.0)(9.80) = 49 N on the box. Usually forces produce accelerations, but the floor
is applying an upward force on the box of exactly 49 N. This offsets the force of gravity
and hence no acceleration.
In this simple example the weight of the box (49 N) has the same magnitude as the normal
force of the floor on the box.
Next, suppose that the box is on the floor of an elevator and that the elevator is accelerating
upward 3.0 m/s2 . The floor is now applying two forces on the box: one to cancel the effect
of gravity and the other to accelerate the box 3.0 m/s2 . The total normal force of the floor
on the box is
FN = ma = (5.0)(9.80 + 3.0) = 64 N
So even though the weight of the box is only 49 N, it is experiencing the same force as a
box of weight 64 N. Therefore, we say that 64 N is the apparent weight of the box.
Example A box of mass 5.0 kg is on the floor of an elevator accelerating downward
3.0 m/s2 . What is the apparent weight of the box?
The apparent weight is now (5.0)(9.803.0) = 34 N . This means that the box appears to
be lighter than it really is. Notice that if the elevator accelerates downward at 9.80 m/s2 ,
then the apparent weight is zero. The box would float the same as loose objects float
on space shuttle flights. If the elevator accelerates downward with a magnitude greater
than 9.80 m/s2 , then the box will accelerate upward (with respect to the elevator) and its
apparent weight will be negative.
Friction
When two objects are in contact, friction is the force that opposes the sliding of one object
across the other. Suppose it is your job to move boxes around a warehouse. If a box is too
heavy to lift and the forklift is unavailable, you may try sliding the box across the floor.
As you do so, a frictional force is constantly applied to the box in the direction is opposite
the motion. Therefore, friction has a tendency to slow down the box. If the box is too
heavy to slide but you push on it anyway, there is still a frictional force acting parallel to
the floor but opposite to the direction of your push.

Fp

Ff
Fp = push
Ff = friction

The force of friction is variable and depends on how hard you push the box. If you push
the box with force F but the box does not move, then the magnitude of the frictional force
is equal to the magnitude of the horizontal component of your push.
Ff

That is
Ff = F cos
Of course it is possible to push the box with enough force so that it starts moving. Right
after the box begins moving the frictional force usually decreases slightly and then levels
off at some fixed value no matter how hard you push. Thus, there is a maximum value for
the force of friction. This maximum value depends on the type of materials in contact and
on the normal force acting at the surface of contact.
Given any two surfaces, there is a number , called the coefficient of friction, that quantifies
the tendency of these surfaces to create friction when one slides past the other. Slippery
surfaces, such as ice sliding on a wet floor, will have coefficients close to zero. Rough
surfaces, like sandpaper, can have coefficients of one or more.
While the coefficient of friction gives much information about the frictional force, it is not
the whole story. The magnitude of friction also depends on the normal force. Suppose
that, while you are pushing your box around the warehouse, your friend is sitting on top of
the box. Will this make it easier or harder to push the box? Obviously it will require more
effort. Your friend has increased the force of friction. We quantify this with the equation
f = FN
where f is the frictional force, is the coefficient of friction, and FN is the normal force.
At this point, we need to consider two different cases. When the box is sliding across the
floor (the kinetic case), the size of the frictional force is constant and we can apply the
above formula directly:

fk = k FN
The subscript k is used because this equation is for kinetic friction.
When the box is not sliding (the static case), our formula gives us not the actual value of
friction but the maximum value:
fsMAX = s FN
So, to summarize, when you are pushing the box and the box is not sliding, the frictional
force is equal to the horizontal component of your push. The largest horizontal force you
can apply to the box without sliding it is s FN .
Now we have two coefficients of friction: the kinetic coefficient k and the static coefficient
s . In most cases these are not the same with k less than s .
Example A horizontal force of 15 N must be applied to get a block to begin sliding
across the floor. How much force is required to slide the block if the weight of the block is
doubled?
Filling in the equation fsMAX = s FN , we have
15 = s FN
If the weight of the block is doubled, then the normal force is also doubled:
fsMAX = s 2FN = 2s FN = 2 15 = 30 N
Example A 35-kg crate rests on a horizontal floor, and a 65-kg person is standing on
the crate. Determine the magnitude of the normal force that (a) the floor exerts on the
crate and (b) the crate exerts on the person.
(a) The normal force of the floor on the crate is equal to the combined weight of the crate
and the person:
FN = (35 + 65)(9.80) = 980 N upward
(b) The normal force of the crate on the person is equal to the weight of the person:
FN = (65)(9.80) = 640 N upward

Example A cup of coffee is sitting on a table in an airplane that is flying at a constant

altitude and a constant velocity. The coefficient of static friction between the cup and the
table is 0.30. Suddenly, the plane accelerates, its altitude remaining constant. What is the
maximum acceleration that the plane can have without the cup sliding backward on the
table?
The normal force on the cup of coffee is
FN = mg = 9.80m
where m is the mass of the cup of coffee. The maximum static frictional force is
fsMAX = s FN = (0.30)(9.80)m
The acceleration corresponding to this force is
a=

fsMAX
= (0.30)(9.80) = 2.9 m/s2
m

Example A 6.00-kg box is sliding across the horizontal floor of an elevator. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the box and the floor is 0.360. Determine the kinetic
frictional force that acts on the box when the elevator is (a) stationary, (b) accelerating
upward with an acceleration whose magnitude is 1.20 m/s2 , and (c) accelerating downward
with an acceleration whose magnitude is 1.20 m/s2 .
(a) The normal force is FN = (6.00)(9.80) = 58.8 N.
The kinetic frictional force is fk = k FN = (0.360)(58.8) = 21.2 N .
(b) FN = (6.00)(9.80 + 1.20) = 66.0 N.
fk = (0.360)(66.0) = 23.8 N .
(c) FN = (6.00)(9.80 1.20) = 51.6 N.
fk = (0.360)(51.6) = 18.6 N .
Tension
Tension is a force acting via a string, rope, or cable. The direction of the tension is always
parallel to the string.
Example The steel I-beam in the drawing has a weight of 8.00 kN
and is being lifted at a constant velocity. What is the tension in each
cable attached to its ends?

The tensions are shown in the picture below. From the symmetry of the problem, we can
conclude that they have the same magnitude T .

T1

T2
70

70

In component form, the tensions are

T1 = (T cos 70 , T sin 70 ) = (0.3420T, 0.9397T )
T2 = (T cos 70 , T sin 70 ) = (0.3420T, 0.9397T )
The sum of the tensions is
T1 + T2 = (0, 1.879T )
Since the beam is not accelerating, the weight of the beam must be equal to 1.879T :
8.00 103 = 1.879T
Solving for T , we get T = 4260 N .
Example A 350-kg sailboat has an acceleration of 0.62 m/s2 at an angle of 64 north of
east. Find the magnitude and direction of the net force that acts on the sailboat.

F = ma = (350)(0.62) = 220 N 64 north of east

Example The speed of a bobsled is increasing, because it has an acceleration of 2.4 m/s2 .
At a given instant in time, the forces resisting the motion, including kinetic friction and
air resistance, total 450 N. The mass of the bobsled and its riders is 270 kg. (a) What is
the magnitude of the force propelling the bobsled forward? (b) What is the magnitude of
the net force that acts on the bobsled?
(b) The net force is F = ma = (270)(2.4) = 648 = 650 N .
(a) The force propelling the bobsled forward is the sum of the net force and the resistive
force: 648 + 450 = 1098 = 1100 N .