An Atwood machine consists of two masses hanging from the ends of a rope that passes over a pulley. Assume that the rope and pulley are massless and that there is no friction in the pulley. If the masses have the values m 1 = 17.7 kg m1=17.7 kg and m 2 = 11.1 kg, m2=11.1 kg, find the magnitude of their acceleration a a and the tension T T in the rope. Use g = 9.81 m/s 2 .

Explanation:

According to Newton's second law of motion,

            ......... (1)

and,     ......... (2)

When we add both equations, (1) and (2) then the expression obtained for "a" is as follows.

             a =

                =

                =

                = 2.24

Now, putting the value of "a" in equation (1) then we will calculate the tension as follows.

                   173.46 - T = 39.648

                       T = 133.812 N

Thus, we can conclude that the magnitude of their acceleration is 2.24 and the tension T is 133.812 N in the rope.

be subject to a force andchange its motion