Consider the following lab setup:
d
CART
TRACK
pulley
hanging
mass
m
The cart is released from rest and accelerates to the right through a displacement d, while the
hanging mass accelerates downward. Assume a massless, frictionless pulley and massless,
inelastic string. Assume a frictionless interface between the cart and the track.
Let the time it takes for the cart to travel a displacement d to be equal to t'.
Given: d, t', m, ?
1. [+4] Draw a FBD for the cart:
(use a ROTATED coordinate system)
2. [+1] Draw a FBD for the hanging mass:
3. [+5] Derive an expression for M, the mass of the cart, in terms of given quantities and g
(gravitational acceleration). Do this by applying Newton's Second Law appropriately to the two
FBDs you have drawn above. This should be all symbolic, as we do in the PPs. Use the back of
this paper if you need more space.