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Grade upto college level Mechanics

An elevator is descending at a constant speed. A passenger drops a coin to the floor. What accelerations would (a) the passenger and (b) a person at rest with respect to the elevator shaft observe for the falling coin?

Profile image of Shane Macguire
11 Years agoGrade upto college level
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1 Answer

Profile image of Deepak Patra
11 Years ago
To the person in the elevator, the coin would appear to fall with the acceleration equal to acceleration due to gravity.
To the person on the ground, the coin would still appear to fall will the same acceleration as perceived by the person in the elevator. This is because the reference frame of the person in elevator moves with a constant speed relative to the reference frame of the person on ground.