Simple Pulley System with Two Masses

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a simple pulley system involving two masses, where gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy are analyzed. The original poster presents a problem involving the calculation of velocity based on energy conservation principles.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to equate the change in gravitational potential energy with the change in kinetic energy to find the final velocity. Some participants express agreement with the original poster's calculations, while others question the accuracy of the provided answer sheet.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes confirmations of the original poster's calculations, with some participants suggesting that the answer sheet may contain errors. There is an exploration of the reasoning behind the discrepancy between the calculated and expected results.

Contextual Notes

Participants note potential confusion regarding the rotational motion aspect of the problem and the accuracy of the answer sheet. The original poster expresses uncertainty about their understanding of the concepts involved.

Wormaldson
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Homework Statement



http://imgur.com/Y1Dua

r = 0.2m
I = 1.4kg m^2
m1 = 2kg
m2 = 5kg
h = 4m

Homework Equations



Δ(Gravitational potential energy) = m1*g*h - m2*g*h
Δ(Kinetic energy) = (1/2)*m1*v^2 + (1/2)*m2*v^2 + (1/2)*I*(v^2/r^2)

The Attempt at a Solution



System is isolated; no change in the internal energy of the system so all the lost gravitational potential energy must go into increasing the kinetic energy of the system.

Therefore, ΔKE = -ΔGPE → (1/2)*v^2(m1 + m2 + I*r^(-2)) = -ΔGPE
→ v = √((-2ΔGPE)/(m1 + m2 + I*r^(-2))) = 2.36643191m/s is what the final answer works out to be.

Problem is, the answer sheet says that the answer should be 0.014. I'm kind of rusty with rotational motion, but even after analyzing this problem to death I still have no clue why my answer is nearly 170 times too big... I must be making a stupid mistake somewhere.

As always, any help is much appreciated.

P.S. sorry for the awful formatting, but these university computers are still running IE7 for some reason and the only part of the submission form that's actually responsive is the text box.
 
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I get the same answer as you. :bugeye:
 
Your solution is correct. The answer sheets do have mistakes.

ehild
 
Huh. Well then. Thanks for the confirmation.
 

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