Mass, Weight and the local acceleration due to gravity

[Northbysouth]

Homework Statement

A person whose mass is 150lb weighs 144.4 lbf. Determine a) the local acceleration of gravity, in ft/s², and b) the persons mass, in lb and weight, in lbf, if g = 32.174 ft/s²

Homework Equations

F=ma

The Attempt at a Solution

A) Using F=ma I got

144.4 lbf = (150lb)a
a = 0.963 ft/s²

My answer seems kinda low. Am I missing something?

b) F=ma

mass = 150lb

F = (150lb)(32.174 ft/sec²)
F = weight = 4826 lbf

I also feel like I'm missing something here as well, especially as it asks for the mass, which is already given. Am I misreading the question or something?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[haruspex]

Hint: if you'd been told the person weighed just a little more, 150 lbf, what would the answer have been?