Weight vs Apparent Weight

[ScreaMy]

Hey guys,

Would this be a good answer for a question asking to explain the difference between weight or apparent weight:

Weight is the force due to gravity that is acting upon an object, whereas apparent weight the the normal force experienced when an object is accelerating or decelerating?

Thanks

[Bri MT]

Hey guys,

Would this be a good answer for a question asking to explain the difference between weight or apparent weight:

Weight is the force due to gravity that is acting upon an object, whereas apparent weight the the normal force experienced when an object is accelerating or decelerating?

Thanks

You've kind of got it, but the normal force & therefore apparent weight is also experienced at rest. Eg. when standing still on the ground
Right now, you wouldn't get the marks because of that.

[ScreaMy]

How about:

Weight refers to the force of gravity acting upon an object near the surface of the Earth. Whereas the apparent weight is the force experienced when the force of gravity and normal force an not balanced, therefore resulting in feeling heavier or lighter.

[Bri MT]

How about:

Weight refers to the force of gravity acting upon an object near the surface of the Earth. Whereas the apparent weight is the force experienced when the force of gravity and normal force an not balanced, therefore resulting in feeling heavier or lighter.

I think you've misunderstood what I was trying to say.  You feel apparent weight whenever a normal force is acting on you, INCLUDING when the normal force and weight force are balanced. The magnitude of this normal force (and hence the magnitude of your apparent weight) changes when the normal force and weight force are not balanced, but it is also there when the normal force and weight force are balanced.
When the normal force and weight force are balanced, apparent weight has the same magnitude as actual weight. When apparent weight is not experienced, the normal force is not acting on you.

Gravity can act even when not near Earth and force due to gravity in these situations is still referred to as weight

[ScreaMy]

Is this better?
 
Weight refers to the force that gravity has upon an object. Apparent weight is experienced at all times however is significant when the normal force and weight force are unbalanced, these are usually experienced during freefall and at a distance from the surface of the Earth

[TooLazy]

Is this better?
 
Weight refers to the force that gravity has upon an object. Apparent weight is experienced at all times however is significant when the normal force and weight force are unbalanced, these are usually experienced during freefall and at a distance from the surface of the Earth

I think its less confusing to just simply state that a persons apparent weight is effectively the normal reaction force they experience.

As their normal reaction force is zero in orbit due to a state of perpetual free fall, hence their apparent weight is zero (not their actual weight)

Also when accelerating upwards in an elevator, the normal reaction force has to be greater than the weight force to produce the upwards net force required for the acceleration. And so the person would feel heavier due to a larger normal reaction force.