Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
In the following figure, m1 = 5 kg, m2 = 2 kg and F = 1 N. Find the acceleration of either block. Describe the motion of m1 if the string breaks but F continues to act.

Advertisements
Solution
Let the acceleration of the blocks be a.
The free-body diagrams for both the blocks are shown below:
From the free-body diagram,
m1a = m1g + F − T ...(i)
Again, from the free-body diagram,
m2a = T − m2g − F ...(ii)
Adding equations (i) and (ii), we have:
\[a = g\frac{m_1 - m_2}{m_1 + m_2}\]
\[\Rightarrow a = \frac{3g}{7} = \frac{29 . 4}{7}\]
\[ = 4 . 2 m/ s^2\]
After the string breaks, m1 moves downward with force F acting downward. Then,

m1a = F + m1g
5a = 1 + 5g
\[\Rightarrow a = \frac{5g + 1}{5}\]
\[ = g + 0 . 2 m/ s^2\]
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
The below figure shows the position-time graph of a particle of mass 4 kg.
- What is the force on the particle for t < 0, t > 4 s, 0 < t < 4 s?
- What is the impulse at t = 0 and t = 4 s? (Consider one-dimensional motion only.)

A batsman deflects a ball by an angle of 45° without changing its initial speed which is equal to 54 km/h. What is the impulse imparted to the ball? (Mass of the ball is 0.15 kg.)
A person drops a coin. Describe the path of the coin as seen by the person if he is in
- a car moving at constant velocity and
- in a free falling elevator.
The figure shows the displacement of a particle going along the X-axis as a function of time. The force acting on the particle is zero in the region

(a) AB
(b) BC
(c) CD
(d) DE
In a TV picture tube, electrons are ejected from the cathode with negligible speed and they attain a velocity of 5 × 106 m/s in travelling one centimetre. Assuming straight-line motion, find the constant force exerted on the electrons. The mass of an electron is 9.1 × 10−31 kg.
A block of mass 0.2 kg is suspended from the ceiling by a light string. A second block of mass 0.3 kg is suspended from the first block by another string. Find the tensions in the two strings. Take g = 10 m/s2.
A man has fallen into a ditch of width d and two of his friends are slowly pulling him out using a light rope and two fixed pulleys as shown in the following figure. Show that the force (assumed equal for both the friends) exerted by each friend on the road increases as the man moves up. Find the force when the man is at a depth h.
The force of buoyancy exerted by the atmosphere on a balloon is B in the upward direction and remains constant. The force of air resistance on the balloon acts opposite the direction of velocity and is proportional to it. The balloon carries a mass M and is found to fall to the earth's surface with a constant velocity v. How much mass should be removed from the balloon so that it may rise with a constant velocity v?
In the following figure shows a uniform rod of length 30 cm and mass 3.0 kg. The strings shown in the figure are pulled by constant forces of 20 N and 32 N. Find the force exerted by the 20 cm part of the rod on the 10 cm part. All the surfaces are smooth and the strings and the pulleys are light.

Find the acceleration of the blocks A and B in the three situations shown in the following figure.

A block is kept on the floor of an elevator at rest. The elevator starts descending with an acceleration of 12 m/s2. Find the displacement of the block during the first 0.2 s after the start. Take g = 10 m/s2.
Two balls A and B of masses m and 2 m are in motion with velocities 2v and v, respectively. Compare:
(i) Their inertia.
(ii) Their momentum.
(iii) The force needed to stop them in the same time.
Use Newton's second law of motion to explain the following instance :
A cricketer pulls his hands back while catching a fast moving cricket ball .
A bullet of mass 50 g moving with an initial velocity 100 m s-1 strikes a wooden block and comes to rest after penetrating a distance 2 cm in it. Calculate: (i) Initial momentum of the bullet, (ii) Final momentum of the bullet, (iii) Retardation caused by the wooden block and (iv) Resistive force exerted by the wooden block.
A pebble is thrown vertically upwards with a speed of 20 m s-1. How high will it be after 2 s? (Take g = 10 m s-2)
Calculate the velocity of a body of mass 0.5 kg, when it has a linear momentum of 5 Ns.
What do you mean by linear momentum of a body? A force causes an acceleration of 10 ms-2 in a body of mass 1 kg. What acceleration will be caused by the same force in a body of mass 4 kg?
A ball is thrown upward and reaches a maximum height of 19.6 m. Find its initial speed?
A cricket ball of mass 150 g has an initial velocity `u = (3hati + 4hatj)` m s−1 and a final velocity `v = - (3hati + 4hatj)` m s−1 after being hit. The change in momentum (final momentum-initial momentum) is (in kg m s1)
What happens when a car brakes to come to a stop?
