If you stand on a bathroom scale, the spring inside the scale compresses 0.50 mm, and it tells you your weight is 700 N. Now if you jump on the scale from a height of 1.3 m, what does the scale read at its peak?

Question

Johanna Villa

Physics

9 February, 22:38

If you stand on a bathroom scale, the spring inside the scale compresses 0.50 mm, and it tells you your weight is 700 N. Now if you jump on the scale from a height of 1.3 m, what does the scale read at its peak?

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Gunther · Answer 1

Initially, mg = kx. K = mg/x = 700/0.5x10^-3 = 1400000N/m. From second condition, applying work-energy theorem, potential enery - elastic potential energy = change in kinetic energy. Now change in kinetic energy is 0 since initial and final velocities are 0m/s. Therefore, potential energy = elastic potential energy. mgh = (1/2) * k * x^2. x^2 = 2 (mg) h/k = 2 x 700 x 1.3 / 1400000. x = 0.036m. Hope it's clear.