The apparent weight of a freely falling body is

Options

A. zero
B. increased
C. decreased
D. constant

Answer

To find the apparent weight of a freely falling body, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Forces Acting on the Body
The body is in free fall, which means the only force acting on it is the gravitational force. The weight of the body can be expressed as:
\[ W = mg \]
where \( m \) is the mass of the body and \( g \) is the acceleration due to gravity.

### Step 2: Define Apparent Weight
The apparent weight is the normal force (reaction force) acting on the body. In a freely falling situation, the normal force is what we refer to as the apparent weight.

### Step 3: Apply Newton's Second Law
According to Newton's second law, the net force acting on the body is equal to the mass of the body multiplied by its acceleration:
\[ F_{\text{net}} = ma \]

In this case, the net force is the difference between the gravitational force (weight) and the normal force:
\[ F_{\text{net}} = mg - R \]
where \( R \) is the normal force (apparent weight).

### Step 4: Set the Acceleration
Since the body is freely falling, the acceleration \( a \) is equal to \( g \):
\[ a = g \]

### Step 5: Substitute and Rearrange the Equation
Substituting \( a = g \) into the equation gives us:
\[ mg - R = mg \]

### Step 6: Solve for the Normal Force
Rearranging the equation to solve for \( R \):
\[ R = mg - mg \]
\[ R = 0 \]

### Conclusion
The apparent weight of a freely falling body is:
\[ R = 0 \]

Thus, the answer is that the apparent weight of a freely falling body is **0**.

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