Unit 2 · Force and Translational Dynamics

Chapter 2.4

Gravitation, Weight, and Apparent Weight

A bathroom scale in a falling elevator reads zero while gravity pulls exactly as hard as ever. What does a scale actually measure?

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By the end

  1. 01Apply the universal law of gravitation and describe the gravitational field as force per unit mass
  2. 02Decide when the gravitational force can be treated as constant and compute weight near a planet's surface
  3. 03Compute apparent weight in accelerating elevators and explain weightlessness in orbit
  4. 04Distinguish inertial mass from gravitational mass and state that experiment finds them equivalent

In unit 2

  1. 2.1Systems, the Center of Mass, and Free-Body Diagrams
  2. 2.2Newton's Third Law, Tension, and Equilibrium
  3. 2.3Newton's Second Law and Connected Systems
  4. 2.4Gravitation, Weight, and Apparent Weight
  5. 2.5Friction and Spring Forces
  6. 2.6Circular Motion and Circular Orbits
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