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jwxie
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Homework Statement
Please look at this pdf
http://iweb.tntech.edu/murdock/books/v1chap4.pdf
PDF pg. 18 - 22
Question# 14
14. Mass m1 on a frictionless horizontal table is connected to mass m2 through
a massless pulley P1 and a massless fixed pulley P2 as shown in Fig. 4.13. (a)
If a1 and a2 are the magnitudes of the accelerations of m1 and m2 respectively,
what is the relationship between these accelerations? Find expressions for (b)
the tensions in the strings and (c) the accelerations a1 and a2 in terms of m1, m2
and g.
Homework Equations
Fnet = ma
v = d/t
d^2 x / dt^2 = a
and so on
The Attempt at a Solution
I don't understand the solution he gives. Please turn to PDF page 20
The author says (first paragraph)
clearly the position of m2 is also measured by x. ` is the length of string from m1 to the pulley. xblock
Now I don't understand how sure we know it is x. Why can't it be X + 2, or X + 1500??
Later he says total length of the string is L, so it assumes that the entire system is actually running with one single string?? The given did not say that, and the diagram did not show that either.
In solving this problem, what do we have to think first? it seems very insightful that one sees the relationship in distance.
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