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Re: Apparent weight




-----Original Message-----
From: Leigh Palmer <palmer@sfu.ca>
To: phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu <phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu>


What Roger says below is how I try to resolve the problem in my classes; I
don't define weight as the force of gravity on an object, but rather as
what
the "bathroom" scale reads.

Since this definition of weight is so much simpler than the "force
of gravity" definition, why does anyone think it is conceptually
more difficult?

Because it requires that one understand _how_ a bathroom scale works versus
how a triple-beam balance (or similar device) works. This definition is
DEVICE dependent and therefore unsatisfactory--to me.

Rick