588 N
Explanation:
Let's apply Newton's 2nd law to both person and the block. Not that there are horizontal forces present in this situation. All forces are directed along the y-axis.
Forces on the person:
[tex]T - m_pg = 0 \Rightarrow T = m_pg[/tex] (1)
Forces on the block:
[tex]T + N - m_bg = 0 \Rightarrow N = m_bg - T[/tex] (2)
Since the problem only asks for the tension T, we only need to use Eqn(1) to solve for it:
[tex]T = m_pg = (60\:\text{kg})(9.8\:\text{m/s}^2) = 588\:\text{N}[/tex]
