Question

A person sitting in a chair in a satellite feels weightless because

• A. the earth does not attract the object in a satellite.
• B. the normal force by the chair on the parson balance the earht's attraction.
• C. the normal force is zero.
• D. the person is satellite is not accelerated.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

the normal force is zero.

As a person sits in a chair $($ on Earth's surface $)$, he will experience two forces, the force of the Earth's gravitational field pulling him downward toward the Earth and the force of the chair pushing him upward. The upward chair force is sometimes referred to as a normal force.
If there were no upward normal force acting upon body, body would not have any sensation of the weight. Without the contact force $($ the normal force $)$, there is no means of feeling the non-contact force $($ the force of gravity $)$.
Hence, A person sitting in a chair in a satellite feels weightless because normal force is zero.