Q. The apparent weight of a man in a lift is less than the real weight when__:
Answer: the lift is going down with an acceleration
Notes: If the lift accelerates downwards with acceleration a, then the apparent weight of the man standing in the lift will be less than the true weight of the man by an amount ma. On the contrary, if the lift accelerates upwards, then the apparent weight of the man will be greater than his true weight. The difference in real and apparent weight is simply because of increasing or decreasing distance froms canth surface.