Help Midterm tomorrow Pulley, Newton's Laws Problem

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves three connected masses with a pulley system, where one mass is on a frictional surface and the others are hanging. The original poster seeks to determine the acceleration of each mass, given specific coefficients of friction.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to derive an equation for acceleration but struggles with the absence of mass values. Some participants suggest that the masses can be treated as equal and question the algebraic steps taken in the original poster's equation.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with some participants providing encouragement and others pointing out potential errors in the original poster's algebra. There is a suggestion that the problem may not require specific mass values, indicating a possible direction for further exploration.

Contextual Notes

The original poster mentions coefficients of static and kinetic friction, which may influence the setup of the problem. There is also a note about the wording being confusing, which could affect interpretations of the problem.

aatgomez
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1. Homework Statement
An object consists of 3 connected masses as seen in the figure. None of the surfaces have friction except the surface on m1 which has the coefficients μs=0.4 y μk=0.3.
What is the acceleration of each one of the masses?
It looks like the following image but m1 is the table and m2 is equal to m3 or the block that's hanging from the pulley of the table.
nMkXx.png





2. Homework Equations
∑Fx = m1a → τ - fk = m1a
∑Fy = 0 → n- m1g = 0
T= μkm1g+ m1a
∑Fy = m2a → m2g - T =m2a
m2g - (μkm1g+m1a) = m2a
a = m2 - μkm1/m1 + m2



3. The Attempt at a Solution
I got up to the finally equation but I can't figure out how to solve the equation without mass. Thanks! :smile:
 
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Good luck with your test! Post is now incomprehensible, but what the heck.
 
The masses are equal , call them m. But your last equation solving for "a" has algebra errors. Correct your algebra...maybe you don't need to know m.
If I interpret your problem correctly, wording is confusing.
 

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