An 800-N woman stands at rest on two bathroom scales so that one scale shows a reading of 500 N.The reading on the other scale is
A)200 N.
B)300 N.
C)400 N.
D)800 N.
E)none of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the woman is at rest and not accelerating, the net force on her must be zero. Since the scale on the left shows a reading of 500 N, the scale on the right must show a reading of 800 N - 500 N = 300 N. Therefore, the answer is choice B.

An 800-N Woman Stands at Rest on Two Bathroom Scales