Atwood Experiment?

Question

Suppose that in the Atwood setup a string is attached to the bottom of a mass (m1) while the string is looped around a pulley (considered to be friction and weightless) and a constant force f is applied, retarding the upward motion of m1. If m1 = 5.10 kg and m2 = 10.20 kg, what value of f will reduce the acceleration of the system by 50%?
f = ? N

Answer 1

FBD for m1:
T1-5.1*9.81=5.1*a
and
T2-5.1*9.81-f=5.1*a/2

for m2
10.2*9.81-T1=10.2*a

10.2*9.81-T2=10.2*a/2

solve for f
a=3.27 m/s^2

f=25.0 N


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