Conservation of Momentum: Pulley System

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a pulley system with two blocks, one on a frictionless table and the other hanging. The inquiry focuses on determining the linear acceleration of the system, considering the masses of the blocks and the pulley.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the application of torque and moment of inertia equations, questioning where errors might lie in the original poster's reasoning. There is also mention of potential issues with an online homework checker.

Discussion Status

Some participants express confidence in the original poster's work, while others suggest that the problem may lie outside of the calculations, possibly with the homework platform itself. Multiple interpretations of the problem's setup are being explored.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of the original poster's confusion regarding the relevance of conservation of momentum to the problem, as well as concerns about the accuracy of the online homework answer checker.

Watney
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Homework Statement


Block A (of mass MA) rests on a frictionless horizontal table. It is connected via a light string to block B (of mass MB) hanging over the edge of the table. The pulley itself, a solid disc, has non-negligible mass MC. The light string does not slip over the pulley.
What is the magnitude of the linear acceleration of the system?

Edit: Messed up with the title! This problem is in the chapter of Conservation of Momentum in my book but I actually didn't use it for this problem.

Homework Equations


Στ=Iα
α=a/r
Moment of Inertia of a disk = 1/2mr^2

The Attempt at a Solution


So here's my attempt but I'm not sure where I'm messing up.
FullSizeRender 2.jpg
 
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Your work looks correct .

Why do you think you are messing up somewhere ?
 
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Vibhor said:
Your work looks correct .

Why do you think you are messing up somewhere ?

When I enter my answer into my online homework answer checker, it says it's wrong. I'll have to ask my professor if maybe there's a mistake with his website cause sometimes he messes up!
Thanks though!
 
I don't know where you're messing up. I didn't see anything wrong.
 
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Watney said:
sometimes he messes up
That is probably what happened. I went through the problem twice and got the same result both times.

Acknowledging @Vibhor who answered before me. I didn't see it until after I posted.
 
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