You are conducting an experiment inside an elevator that can move in a vertical shaft. A load is hung vertically from the ceiling on a string, and is stationary with respect to you. The tension in the string is measured to be 10% less than the weight of the load. No other forces are acting on the load. Which of the following statements about the elevator are correct?

The elevator is an inertial frame of reference.

The elevator is not an inertial frame of reference.

The elevator may be at rest for the duration of the entire experiment.

The elevator may be moving at a constant velocity upward.

The elevator may be moving at a constant velocity downward.

The elevator must be accelerating

Question

Zander Swanson

Physics

17 March, 13:42

You are conducting an experiment inside an elevator that can move in a vertical shaft. A load is hung vertically from the ceiling on a string, and is stationary with respect to you. The tension in the string is measured to be 10% less than the weight of the load. No other forces are acting on the load. Which of the following statements about the elevator are correct?

The elevator is an inertial frame of reference.

The elevator is not an inertial frame of reference.

The elevator may be at rest for the duration of the entire experiment.

The elevator may be moving at a constant velocity upward.

The elevator may be moving at a constant velocity downward.

The elevator must be accelerating

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Answers (1)

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Zachariah Durham · Answer 1

The elevator must be accelerating

This is the case because the tension is not equivalent to the load's weight, which means there must another force acting on the system.