Solving Bill's Elevator Mystery: Weight and Distance

[Cfem]

Homework Statement

Bill gets into an elevator on the 40th floor of a building and it begins moving at t = 0s. The figure shows his apparent weight over the next 12s.

Is the Elevator moving up or down originally?
What is his weight?
How far does he travel over the first 12 seconds

Homework Equations

F = ma

The Attempt at a Solution

Part A is taken care of.

But for Part B (and therefore part C), I assumed that his weight at t = 0 was his mass, so divided that by gravity, but that answer was spit out (automated grading system). I'm assuming that this is because the elevator starts moving at 0, but if that's the case I'm not sure what to do about his original mass.

I know once I have that I can use the difference at each interval to find the acceleration and therefore distance, but it's the original mass that's confusing me.

 

[Delphi51]

Three conditions are possible: upward acceleration (highest weight), constant speed (normal weight), and downward acceleration (lower weight). You should be able to pick out the middle one on the graph and that will be your normal weight.