How Does Nick's Acceleration Change When His Friend Pulls the Rope?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a scenario where a child named Nick is trying to reach an apple in a tree while sitting in a chair connected to a rope over a frictionless pulley. The discussion centers around the forces acting on Nick and the chair, particularly when the tension in the rope is altered by his friend pulling on it.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the changes in forces acting on Nick and the chair when the tension in the rope is maintained but the pulling force is applied by a friend instead of Nick. Questions arise about the free body diagram and the implications of these changes on Nick's acceleration.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively questioning the differences in forces and the setup of the free body diagram for the second part of the problem. There is a focus on understanding the role of tension and the normal force in this context, with some guidance offered regarding the need for a free body diagram to clarify the situation.

Contextual Notes

There is uncertainty regarding the forces acting on the system, particularly in relation to the normal force and tension when the pulling force is applied by a different person. Participants express a need for clarification on these concepts to progress in their understanding.

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Summary:: An inventive child named Nick wants to reach an apple in a tree without climbing the tree. Sitting in a chair connected to a rope that passes over a frictionless pulley (see figure below), Nick pulls on the loose end of the rope with such a force that the spring scale reads 350 N. Nick's true weight is 270 N, and the chair weighs 160 N. Nick's feet are not touching the ground. Use g=9.8 m/s^2.
a = 6.153 m/s^2
magnitude nick on chair 89.52N
Friend pulling pully: ? m/s^2

An inventive child named Nick wants to reach an apple in a tree without climbing the tree. Sitting in a chair connected to a rope that passes over a frictionless pulley (see figure below), Nick pulls on the loose end of the rope with such a force that the spring scale reads 350 N. Nick's true weight is 270 N, and the chair weighs 160 N. Nick's feet are not touching the ground. Use g=9.8 m/s^2.

Find Nick's acceleration, using upward as positive: a = 6.153 m/s^2

Find the magnitude of the force Nick exerts on the chair: 89.52N

Instead Nick hands the rope with the scale to his friend Barney, who stands on the ground. Barney pulls on the rope so that the spring scale again reads 350 N. What is Nick's acceleration now, again using upward as positive.: ? m/s^2

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Screenshot_20210917-132137_Samsung Notes.jpg


Not sure what changes in the last question T would still equal the same. Not sure what forces changes in the free body diagram, would deeply appreciate any help with the problem.
 
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brandonp620 said:
Not sure what changes in the last question T would still equal the same. Not sure what forces changes in the free body diagram, would deeply appreciate any help with the problem.
The tension in the rope is the same, but the force exerted by the rope on the Nick + chair system is not. Do you see why?
 
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brandonp620 said:
Not sure what changes in the last question T would still equal the same. Not sure what forces changes in the free body diagram, would deeply appreciate any help with the problem.
Please post your FBD for the second part.
 
kuruman said:
The tension in the rope is the same, but the force exerted by the rope on the Nick + chair system is not. Do you see why?
I do not, It would still have the Normal force, and mg and Tension would still be in the same direction. So I'm a little lost. Would there only be one tension force?
 
haruspex said:
Please post your FBD for the second part.
I don't have one because I'm not sure about the difference.
 
brandonp620 said:
Would there only be one tension force?
There are still two tension forces, but what they act on is different.
brandonp620 said:
I don't have one because I'm not sure about the difference.
Think about each in turn. What forces act on Nick now? What forces act on the chair now?
 
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You’re not going to be able to do this without a free body diagram, so please show us your best shot at it. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
 

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