A pendulum bob of mass 50 g hangs from the ceiling of an elevator. Determine the tension in the string given that the elevator is travelling upward with a uniform velocity.

Step-by-step solution

Mass of the bob, m = 50 g = 0.05 kg Since the elevator is moving upward with a uniform velocity, its acceleration is zero, a = 0 . The forces acting on the bob are the tension T in the upward direction and the weight mg in the downward direction. Applying Newton's second law of motion: T - mg = ma T - mg = 0 T = mg Taking g = 9.8 m/s ^2 : T = 0.05 9.8 = 0.49 N