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obnoxiousris
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Homework Statement
a block of mass m2=4kg hangs by a light string that passes over a massless, frictionless pulley and is connected to a block of mass, m1=6kg that rests on a rough shelf. the coeff of kinetic friction is uk=0.2. the 6 kg block is pushed against a spring, but not attached to it. the spring has a force constant of 180nm^-1 and is compressed to 30cm.
find the speed of the blocks after the spring is released and the 4 kg block has moved a distance of 40cm. (the connecting rope has zero mass and remains taut the whole time.)
a diagram can be found here http://anulib.anu.edu.au/anuonly/exams/2006/PHYS1101_06_1.pdf
Homework Equations
F=ma?
Ffriction=u*normal force
F spring=kx
The Attempt at a Solution
i started by working out the forces on the 2 masses first.
at rest
on the hanging 4kg mass, there are weight force pulling it down, and tension force pulling it up. the two forces are equal and opposite to each other. on the rest 6kg mass, there is tension force pulling it toward the pulley, (which is the same as the weight force of the 4kg mass??) and friction pointing backwards, these two forces must be equal and opposite.
when the spring is released
on the 6kg mass, there is still the same amount of tension force pulling it towards the pulley, and now also the spring is also pushing at the same direction. since the mass is moving now, there must be friction pointing in the direction away form the pulley. from this, the net force on the mass can be found and acceleration can be known.
on the 4kg mass, there is still weight, and since the tension in the string has to be the same, does it mean now the downward force is the sum of weight force and the spring force?
also i watched a video on khan academy http://www.khanacademy.org/video/a-more-complicated-friction-inclined-plane-problem?playlist=Physics and he calculated the acceleration of the system, does this mean the 2 objects are accelerating at the same rate?
can some body please help? I am really confused D=
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