Determine the reading of the spring balance depicted in the figure. The elevator is ascending with an acceleration of g/10 , the pulley and the string are light, and the pulley is smooth.

Step-by-step solution

The elevator is accelerating upwards with an acceleration a = g 10 . The effective acceleration due to gravity inside the elevator is: g_ eff = g + a = g + g 10 = 11g 10 For the masses m₁ = 1.5 kg and m₂ = 3.0 kg connected over the pulley, the tension T in the string is given by: T = 2m₁m₂ m₁ + m₂ g_ eff Substituting the given values: T = 2 1.5 3.0 1.5 + 3.0 11g 10 T = 9.0 4.5 11g 10 = 2 11g 10 = 2.2g The downward force exerted on the pulley, which is measured by the spring balance, is 2T : F = 2T = 2 2.2g = 4.4g S