During upward acceleration in an elevator, how does the upward force on a man compare to his weight?

When an elevator is accelerating upward, the forces acting on a person inside can be understood through Newton's second law of motion. The weight of the person is a downward force, calculated as mass times the acceleration due to gravity. In this scenario, as the elevator accelerates upward, there must be an additional upward force acting on the person to not only counteract his weight but also provide the additional upward acceleration.

To break it down, let’s consider the forces at play. The force of gravity pulls the individual down with a strength of mg (mass times gravitational acceleration). For the man to accelerate upward, the total upward force must be greater than this weight; it must not only balance out the force of gravity but also produce a net upward acceleration.

Mathematically, if we denote the upward force as F, we have the equation F - mg = ma (where a is the upward acceleration of the elevator). Rearranging this shows that F = mg + ma. Here, the term mg is the weight, and the addition of ma illustrates that the upward force must indeed exceed his weight during this upward acceleration.

Thus, when you find the upward force during upward acceleration, it is greater than the man's weight, confirming that the upward force