A parcel sent from a mountain station is weighed at two different locations before shipping. Location X (mountain top): spring balance reading = 97N, local acceleration due to gravity = 9.7m s−2. Location Y (sea level): spring balance reading = 98N, local acceleration due to gravity = 9.8m s−2.
(i) Calculate the mass of the parcel using the data from each location separately.
(ii) Explain why the two calculated masses are not identical, even though the parcel itself is unchanged.
(iii) A courier company charges by mass in whole kilograms based on the sea-level weighing. If the company rounds off any fractional kilogram to the next whole number, determine the mass that will be billed and find the percentage error with respect to the more accurate mass you obtained in part (i).