Weight at an Angle: 115kg Football Player & 40° Scale Reading

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A 115-kg football player stands on a bathroom scale inclined at a 40° angle from the vertical. The player initially calculates the weight reading using the cosine of the incorrect angle, mistakenly using 55° instead of the correct angle of 50°. This error leads to an incorrect weight reading in Newtons. The discussion focuses on clarifying the correct angle to use in the calculation for accurate results. Understanding the relationship between the angles is crucial for solving the problem correctly.
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Homework Statement


"You are a 115-kg football player. You go stand on your bathroom scale, but the scale is not perfectly horizontal. It is instead inclined at an angle of 40° from the vertical (which makes it rather hard to stand on, but whatever). The scale is screwed into the floor so it doesn’t slip. The scale is a “proper” physical scale, with the reading in Newtons. What is your weight according to the reading on the scale?"

The Attempt at a Solution


I thought that since the angle from the vertical was 40 degrees, the angle from the horizontal ground would be 55 degrees. Then, I used mgcos55 to try and find the weight on Newtons, as the angle from the horizontal ground fits into this equation. However, my answer was wrong. What is it that I'm doing wrong?
 
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90 - 40 = 50. Not 55.
 
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