Solving Acceleration of Blocks in Pulley System

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a pulley system involving two blocks, where participants are tasked with finding the acceleration of each block in terms of their masses and gravitational acceleration. The original poster has attempted to apply Newton's second law and has drawn free body diagrams to analyze the forces acting on each block.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationships between the accelerations of the two blocks, questioning how the acceleration of one block relates to the other. There is an emphasis on understanding the dynamics of the system and the implications of the free body diagrams drawn.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants seeking clarification on the relationships between the accelerations of the blocks. Some guidance has been offered regarding the need to explore the physical setup further, particularly in understanding how the movement of one block affects the other.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working with a visual representation of the pulley system that may not be entirely clear, leading to requests for clarification. There is an acknowledgment of the need to establish the correct relationships between the accelerations of the blocks.

Thomas_
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Homework Statement


Pulley System:
Code:
B-------O	////
//////	|	|
	|	|
	|	|
	 ---O---
	    |
	    B

O = Pulley
B = Block

Find the acceleration of each block in terms of m1,m2 and g.

Homework Equations


F = ma

The Attempt at a Solution


I drew free body diagrams for each block and ended up with:

Block 1: T1 = m1a1

Block 2: m2g - T2 =m2a2
T2 = 2T1

However, this is not enough to cancel out all a2's / a1's. What piece am I missing here?
 
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Thomas_ said:
However, this is not enough to cancel out all a2's / a1's. What piece am I missing here?
What's the relationship between a_1 and a_2? If m1 has an acceleration of +a to the right, what must the acceleration of m2 be?
 
not much is clear from that picture.. mind clarifying it a lil bit??
 
Doc Al said:
What's the relationship between a_1 and a_2? If m1 has an acceleration of +a to the right, what must the acceleration of m2 be?
The same?

ank_gl said:
not much is clear from that picture.. mind clarifying it a lil bit??
I'm sorry, sure.

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3518/clipboard01kg4.th.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thomas_ said:
The same?
No. If m_1 moves a distance L to the right, how far down does m_2 move? (You might find it helpful to play around with a piece of string. I'm not kidding.) You need to determine the magnitude and direction of the acceleration of m_2 in terms of the acceleration of m_1.
 

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