2.6.C—Describe the conditions under which the magnitude of a system’s apparent weight is different from the magnitude…

Describe the conditions under which the magnitude of a system’s apparent weight is different from the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on that system.

• The magnitude of the apparent weight of a system is the magnitude of the normal force exerted on the system.
• If the system is accelerating, the apparent weight of the system is not equal to the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on the system.
• A system appears weightless when there are no forces exerted on the system or when the force of gravity is the only force exerted on the system.
• The equivalence principle states that an observer in a noninertial reference frame is unable to distinguish between an object’s apparent weight and the gravitational force exerted on the object by a gravitational field.