Now, you are pulling a set of two boxes, joined together by a rope, across a fri

Question

Now, you are pulling a set of two boxes, joined together by a rope, across a frictionless surface. Box 1 has a mass of 20.0 kg, and box 2 has a mass of 5.00 kg. You exert a pulling force of 12.5 N on Box 1, parallel to the floor.

    a. Draw a picture of this situation

    b. ID all the forces acting on the box 1 and box 2

    c. Define a coordinate system

    d. Write N2 for each of the coordinates and for each box

    e. Solve for the two normal forces, the two weights, the acceleration of the boxes, and the tension of the rope between the boxes.

Explanation / Answer

Box1 :

weight foprce W = mg = 196 N downwards

a force F =12.5 N horizontally

tension force by rope T    ( opposite to F inhorizontal )

normal force N1 upwards

N1= W = 196 N

Box2 :

weight foprce W = mg = 49 N downwards

tension force by rope T    ( same direction as force F in horizontal )   

normal force N2 upwards

N2 =W = 49 N

F = (m1 +m2)a

12.5 = (20 +5) a

a = 0.5 m/s2

T = m2a = 5 x 0.5 = 2.5 N

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