MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Department of Physics
Physics 8.01

Fall 2012

Problem Set 2: Applications of Newtons Second Law Solutions

Problem 1

!
!
(a) The static friction force fs can have a magnitude fs ! fs " s N . Suppose you have a
block with a rope attached on opposite sides (right and left sides). (i) Describe the
direction and magnitude of the static friction force as you increase your pull on the right
side until the block just slips. (ii) Describe the direction and magnitude of the static
friction force as you increase your pull on the left side until the block just slips. (iii).
Describe the direction and magnitude of the static friction force when you pull both sides
with the same magnitude of force.
Answer. (i) As you increase your pull on the right, the static friction force increases in
magnitude and is directed oppose your pull (to the left). When the block just slips the
magnitude of the static friction force reaches its maximum value ( fs )max = s N . (ii)
When you pull on the left, the direction of the static friction force is now pointing to the
right. The magnitude of the static friction force increases until the block just slips when
the static friction force reaches its maximum value ( fs )max = s N . (iii) When you pull
both sides equally the static friction force is zero.
(b) A basketball player is jumping vertically upward in order to shoot the ball. Her legs
are flexed and pushing on the floor so that her body is accelerated upward. Draw freebody force diagrams for the player and the Earth. Identify all action-reaction pairs of
forces. Which force acting on the player has the largest magnitude? Explain why.
Solution

!
The external forces on the player are gravity and the contact force. Denote these as Fe,Gp
!
!
!
and C e, p . Gravity is directed down and Fe,Gp = mpg . The contact force is directed up.

Internal forces in the players legs are not considered in a free-body diagram. The forces
on the Earth are the gravitational force that the player exerts on the Earth and the contact
!
!G !
!G
force. Denote these forces as C p,e and Fp,e
. C p,e is directed down and Fp,e
is directed
!
!
!G
!G
up. Fe, p and Fp,e form an action-reaction pair, as do C e, p and C p,e . We can express this
as
!
!G
Fe,Gp = !Fp,e
!
!
C e, p = !C p,e

The player is accelerating upward, so the

! net force must be upward; the sum must be
directed upward, so the upward force C e, p must have the larger magnitude.

(1)

!
(c) The position vector r (t ) of an object moving in a circular orbit of radius r is shown
in the figure below with constant angular speed ! . At time t , the object is located at the
!
point P with coordinates (r, ! (t)) and position vector given by r(t) = r r (t) . Derive a
vector expression for (i) the velocity and (ii) the acceleration. You must show all your
work, in particular how you take derivatives.

Solution: In figure below,

we see that a vector decomposition expression for r (t) and !(t)

in terms of i and j is
given by
r (t) = cos! (t) i + sin ! (t) j
= " sin ! (t) i + cos! (t) j
!(t)

(1)
(2)

So we can write the position vector as

!
r(t) = r r (t) = r(cos! (t) i + sin ! (t) j)

(3)

!
dr(t)
d
d! (t)
d! (t)
!
v(t) =
= r (cos! (t) i + sin ! (t) j) = r(" sin ! (t)
i + cos! (t)
j)
dt
dt
dt
dt

(4)

The velocity is then

where we used the chain rule to calculate that

d
d! (t)
(cos! (t) = " sin ! (t)
dt
dt

(5)

d
d! (t)
(sin ! (t) = cos! (t)
dt
dt

(6)

We now rewrite Eq. (4) as

d! (t)
!
v(t) = r
(" sin ! (t)i + cos! (t) j)
dt

(7)

Finally we substitute Eq. (2) into Eq. (7) and obtain an expression for the velocity of a
particle in a circular orbit
d! (t)
!
(8)
v(t) = r
!(t)
dt
We denote the rate of change of angle with respect to time by the Greek letter ! ,

!"

d#
dt

(9)

which can be positive (counterclockwise rotation in the figure below left), zero (no
rotation), or negative (clockwise rotation in figure below right).

This is often called the angular speed but it is actually the z -component of a vector
called the angular velocity vector.

! d"
!=
k = ! k .
dt
The SI units of angular velocity are [rad ! s "1 ] .

Angular velocity, ! " d# / dt > 0

(10)

Thus the velocity vector for circular motion is given by

!
# v "(t)
,
v(t) = r! "(t)
"

(11)

where the ! -component of the velocity is given by

v! = r

d!
.
dt

(12)

We shall call v! the tangential component of the velocity.

We have assumed that the object is moving at a constant speed, d! / dt = 0 . The
acceleration is then
!

dv(t)
d"(t)
!
a(t) =
= r!
(13)
dt
dt
= " sin ! (t)i + cos! (t) j . So we can rewrite Eq. (13) as
Recall from Eq. (2) that !(t)

d
!
a(t) = r! (" sin # (t)i + cos# (t) j)
dt

(14)

We again use the chain rule (Eqs. (5) and (6)) and find that

d# (t)
d# (t)
!
$
a(t) = r! & " cos# (t)
i " sin # (t)
%
dt
dt

j'
)(

(15)

Recall that ! " d# / dt , and from Eq. (1) r (t) = cos! (t) i + sin ! (t) j . Therefore the
acceleration becomes

!
a(t) = !r" 2 r (t) .

(16)

The radial component of the acceleration is given by

ar = !r " 2 < 0 .

(17)

!
Because ar < 0 , that radial vector component a r (t) = !r " 2 r (t) is always directed
towards the center of the circular orbit.

Problem 2 A person is standing on top of a hill that slopes downwards uniformly at an

angle ! with respect to the horizontal. The person throws a stone at an initial fixed angle

! from the horizontal with an initial speed of v0 . You may neglect air resistance. (a)
What is the horizontal range of the stone when the stone strikes the ground? (b)
Challenge: What angle ! should the person throw the stone such that the stone travels
furthest down the hill?

Solution:
a) In the absence of air friction or other forces other than gravity, the stones horizontal
component of velocity will be constant, vx = v0 cos! . Taking the top of the hill as the
origin, the stones x -coordinate as a function of time is x = (v0 cos! )t . The stones
vertical component of velocity is

v y = v0 y ! g t = v0 sin " ! g t

(1)

and its vertical position is

y = (v0 sin ! )t "

1 2
gt
2

1 # x &
=
" g%
v0 cos!
2 $ v0 cos! ('
xv0 sin ! x

= x tan ! " x 2

(2)

g
,
2 v02 cos 2 !

where t = x / (v0 cos! ) has been used to express y in terms of x . The position of any
point on the downward slope is
y = !x tan "
(3)
and the stone will land at the point where the expressions in Equations (2) and (3) are
equal,
g
(4)
x tan ! " x 2
= "x tan # .
2
2 v0 cos 2 !

The x = 0 root of Equation (4) represents the stone being at the top of the hill, and may
be neglected. Solving Equation (4) for x gives

2 v02
x = (tan ! + tan " )cos !
g
2

2 v02 # 1
& 2 v02
2
= (sin ! cos! + cos ! tan " )
= % sin 2! + cos ! tan " (
g
$2
' g

(5)

where we have used the identity 2sin ! cos! = sin 2!

(b) From Eq. (5), we can see that the horizontal distance is a function of the angle ! . If
we maximize the horizontal distance then the stone will also go furthest down the hill .
Thus we set
2 v0 2
dx
d
0=
=
sin ! cos! + cos 2 ! tan "
.
(6)
d! d!
g

This becomes

0 = cos 2! " sin ! 2cos! tan #

2 v0 2
2 v0 2
= cos 2! " sin 2! tan #
,
g
g

which simplifies to the condition that

0 = cos 2! " sin 2! tan # .

We can now solve for the angle ! maximize the horizontal distance that the stone will
travel

tan 2! = co tan " ,

or

!=

1 "1
tan (co tan # ) .
2

(7)

Problem 3 A person clings to a rope (assumed massless) that passes over a pulley. The
person of mass mp is balanced by a block of mass mb hanging at the other end of the
rope. Initially both the person and block are motionless. The person then starts climbing
the rope by pulling on it with a constant force in order to reach the block. The person
moves a distance L relative to the rope. Does the block move as a result of the persons
climbing? If so, in which direction, and by how much?

Solution: The coordinate system is shown above and force diagrams on the block and
person are shown in the figures below.

We are told that the person and block are initially balanced so m ! mp = mb .

As the person pulls up on the rope, there is a force down on the rope, creating a tension
T in the rope. This tension is transmitted through the rope, and so is also the force on the
object. Both the person and block satisfy Newtons Second Law,

m g ! T = m ay .

(1)

Because T > mg , the person and the block accelerate upwards with the same
acceleration, a y < 0 . The length of the rope between the person and the block is

l = y p + ! R + yb ,

(2)

where R is the radius of the pulley. As the person climbs, y p and yb change by the
same (negative) amount. So, if a length of rope L passes through the persons hands,
both the person and the object rise a distance L / 2 .

Problem 4 A cart rolls on a track inclined at an angle ! to the horizontal. The mass of the
cart is M . There is a rolling friction force given by F = N , where N is the magnitude
of the normal (i.e., perpendicular to the track) force the track exerts on the cart. Assume
the cart is rolling down the track in the figure at the left, and is rolling up the track in the
figure to the right. Find a vector expression for the acceleration of the cart when it is
rolling (a) down the track (b) up the track.

Solution For the cart rolling down, the friction force is directed upward along the track,
and for the cart rolling up, the friction force is directed down along the track. The
direction of i is chosen pointing down the incline in both cases.

For both cases, rolling up and rolling down, the magnitude N of the normal force must be
equal in magnitude to the component M g cos! of the gravitational force normal to the
plane because the acceleration in the j -direction is zero. With the model for the friction
force given in the problem,

F = N = M g cos! .

(1)

The component M g sin ! of the gravitational force directed down the incline is the same
for both cases. Thus we have:
(a) Rolling down: Newtons Second Law in the i -direction is:

M g sin ! " M g cos! = Mad

(2)

!
a d = (g sin ! " g cos! )i

(3)

Therefore

(b) Rolling up: Newtons Second Law in the i -direction is:

M g sin ! + M g cos! = M au

(4)

!
a u = (g sin ! + g cos! )i

(5)

So the acceleration in both cases is downward and

au > ad .

(6)

Problem 5 An object with mass m is released from rest and slides a distance d down a
roof that is inclined at an angle ! with respect to the horizontal. The contact surface
between the roof and object has a coefficient of kinetic friction k . The edge of the
bottom of the roof is at a height h above the ground. What is the horizontal distance from
the edge of the roof to the point where the object hits the ground?

Solution: It is clear that the distance the object travels will depend on how fast it is
moving when it leaves the roof, and that this speed will be larger for larger values of d
and ! . Consider then the two stages of the motion, the first when the object is sliding
down the roof and the second where it is in free fall. We shall use Newtons second Law
to find the acceleration for the sliding down the roof and then use the kinematic equations
for position and velocity along the roof to find the speed of the object just when it reaches
the end of the roof. We can then use that speed as an initial condition for the projectile
motion trajectory. We can then solve for the time that it takes to reach the ground and
hence solve for the horizontal distance the object traveled from edge of the roof.
For the first stage, choose a coordinate system with the positive i -direction down the
roof (the steepest downward direction) and the positive j -direction to be perpendicular to
the roof (with positive upward component).

The forces on the object are gravity

!
mg = mg i cos ! " jsin !

and the contact force

! ! !
C = N + fk = N j ! f k i .

!
!
The components of the vectors in Newtons Second Law, F = ma , are

(1)
(2)

mg sin ! " f k = m ax

(3)

N ! mg cos " = m a y .

(4)

The condition that the object remains on the roof is expressed as a y = 0 and the model
for kinetic friction is
fk = k N .

(5)

N = mg cos ! ,

(6)

f k = k mg cos ! .

(7)

The condition a y = 0 in Eq. (4) gives

and so Eq. (5) becomes

Using this in Eq. (3) allows solution for the x -component of acceleration
ax = g(sin ! " k cos ! ) .

(8)

Let the time that the object takes to slide down the roof be t1 and the speed of the object
just as it leaves the roof be v0 . Then, we have that
2
1
1 (ax t1 )
2
d = ax t1 =
2
2 ax

(9)

We note that
v1 = ax t1 .

(10)

So Eq. (9) becomes

d=

v12
2ax

(11)

We can now solve Eq. (11) for the speed of the object the instant it leaves the roof

v1 = 2 ax d = 2 g d(sin ! " k cos ! ) .

(12)

For the second stage, the object is in free fall. For this stage, it should be clear that the
coordinate system used for the first stage will cause great difficulty. So, take the positive
i -direction to be horizontal and the positive j -direction to be vertically upward, so that
the i - j plane contains the objects motion.

We then have
ax = 0 ,

(13)

a y = !g .

(14)

Additionally, if we now reset our clock so that t = 0 when the object leaves the roof,

vx, 0 = v1 cos ! ,

(15)

v y, 0 = !v1 sin " .

(16)

where v1 is the speed of the object when it just leaves the edge of the roof. If we further
take the origin to be the point on the ground directly below the point where the object
leaves the roof, x0 = 0 , y0 = h . The equations describing the objects motion as a
function of time t are then

1
ax t 2 = v1 cos ! t ,
2
1
1
y(t) = y0 + v y, 0 t + a y t 2 = h ! v1 sin " t ! gt 2 .
2
2
x(t) = x0 + vx, 0 t +

(17)
(18)

When the object hits the ground, y = 0 , the x -coordinate may be denoted x f and the
time when the object hits may be denoted t f . Eq. (18) then becomes

0 = h ! v1 sin " t f !

1 2
gt
2 f

(19)

This is a quadratic equation in t f , and the quadratic formula gives

tf =

1
!v1 sin " v12 sin 2 " + 2gh
g

(20)

and substitution of the positive solutions into Eq. (17) gives

xf =

v1 cos !
"v1 sin ! + v12 sin 2 ! + 2gh
g

#
v2
2gh &
= 1 cos ! % " sin ! + sin 2 ! + 2 (
g
v1 '
$

(21)

We can rewrite Eq. (11) as

v12 / g = d(sin ! " k cos ! )

(22)

Then substitute Eq. (22) into Eq. (21) which yields

#
&
2h
x f = d(sin ! " k cos ! )cos ! % " sin ! + sin 2 ! +
(
d(sin ! " k cos ! ) '
$

Note that the gravitational constant g does not appear in this expression.
simplification is of questionable value.

(23)

Further

Problem 6 A truck is traveling in a straight line on level ground, and is accelerating

uniformly with an acceleration of magnitude a . A rope (which of course is massless and
inextensible) is tied to the back of the truck. The other end of the rope is tied to a bucket
of mass M . The bucket tosses wildly when the truck starts to accelerate, but due to
friction it soon settles into a position at a fixed distance behind the truck, with the rope
hanging straight at a fixed angle, as shown in the diagram. Although friction is needed to
cause the rope to settle to an equilibrium position, we will assume that it can otherwise be
neglected. Express your answers in terms of the given variables M , g , and a . You may
not need them all.

a)

Find the angle ! at which the rope will settle.

b)

What will be the tension T of the rope once it settles into this angle?

c)

Now suppose that the truck comes to a downhill section of road, at an angle !
relative to the horizontal, as shown in the diagram. Suppose that the truck
continues to accelerate with an acceleration of magnitude a . Once the rope again
settles to a fixed angle " ! relative to the truck, what will that angle be? (Express
your answers in terms of the given variables M , g , ! , and a . You may not
need them all.)

d)

What will be the new tension T ! in the rope? (Express your answers in terms of
the given variables M , g , ! , and a . You may not need them all.

Solution:
a) The free body diagram is shown in the figure below.

Applying Newtons Second Law, we get that

Thus

Dividing Eq. (1) by Eq. (3) yields

T sin ! = Ma .

(1)

T cos! " Mg = 0 .

(2)

T cos! = Mg .

(3)

tan ! = a / g .

(4)

! = tan "1 (a / g) .

(5)

Thus

b) What will be the tension T of the rope once it settles into this angle?
Square Eqs. (1) and (2), add, and then take the square root

T = M g 2 + a2

(6)

c) Now suppose that the truck comes to a downhill section of road, at an angle ! relative
to the horizontal, as shown in the diagram. Suppose that the truck continues to accelerate
with an acceleration of magnitude a . Once the rope again settles to a fixed angle " !
relative to the truck, what will that angle be? (Express your answers in terms of the given
variables M , g , ! , and a . You may not need them all.)

The force diagram is now shown in the figure below.

Apply Newtons Second Law down the hill:

Therefore

T sin " ! + Mg sin # = Ma .

(7)

T ! sin " ! = Ma # Mg sin $ .

(8)

Apply Newtons Second Law normal to the hill:

T ! cos" ! # Mg cos $ = 0 .

(9)

T ! cos" ! = Mg cos # .

(10)

a # g sin $
.
g cos $

(11)

% a # g sin $ (
" ! = tan #1 '
& g cos $ *)

(12)

Therefore

Dividing Eq.(8) by Eq.(10) yields

T ! tan " ! =
Thus

d) What will be the new tension T ! in the rope? (Express your answers in terms of the
given variables M , g , ! , and a . You may not need them all.)
Square Eqs. (8) and (10), add, and then take the square root

T ! = ( Ma " Mg sin # )2 + ( Mg cos # )2

(13)

T ! = M (a 2 + g 2 " 2ag sin # ) .

(14)

Alternatively: choose horizontal (positive i to the right) and vertical (positive j down)
unit vectors. The acceleration then decomposes as
!
a = a cos ! i + a sin ! j .

(15)

T ! sin(" ! + # ) = Ma cos # ,

(16)

Mg ! T " cos(# " + $ ) = Ma sin $ .

(17)

T ! cos(" ! + # ) = Mg $ Ma sin # .

(18)

Newtons Second Law becomes

Eq.(17) can be rewritten as

Divide Eq.(16) by Eq.(18) yielding

tan(" ! + # ) =

a cos #
.
g $ a sin #

(19)

Thus
% a cos $ (
" ! = tan #1 '
#$ .
& g # a sin $ *)

(20)

Problem 7 The system shown on the left above is made up of two massive blocks, three
massless, frictionless pulleys and 3 ropes of fixed length. Find the acceleration of block 2
after the system is released from rest.

Solution: The figure below shows a coordinate system and the tensions in each of the
three ropes that are useful in solving the problem.

Newtons Second Law F = ma on block 1 yields

m1 g ! T1 = m1

d 2 y1
dt 2

(1)

(2)

and F = ma on block 2 yields

m2 g ! T2 = m2

d 2 y2
dt 2

The middle pulley will accelerate at some finite rate. However since it has no mass,
unless the sum of the forces on it is zero, it would accelerate at an infinite rate. Thus

T1 = 2T3 .

(3)

Similarly, the sum of the forces on the lower pulley must be zero.
T3 = 2T2 .

(4)

Together these last two equations imply that

T1 = 4T2 .

(5)

The length of the rope with tension T1 is given by

l1 = ( y1 ! s1 ) + y3 .

(6)

The constraint that the length of that rope is constant requires that

0=
Therefore

d 2 l1

dt 2

d 2 y1
dt 2

d 2 y1
dt 2

=!

d 2 y3

d 2 y3
dt 2

dt 2

(7)

(8)

The length of the rope with tension T3 is given by

l3 = (d ! y3 ) + y4 ! y3 .

(9)

The constraint that the length of that rope is constant requires that

0=

d 2 l3
dt 2

d 2 y4
dt 2

!2

d 2 y3
dt 2

(10)

Hence

d 2 y4
dt 2

=2

d 2 y3
dt 2

(11)

The length of the rope with tension T2 is given by

l2 = (d ! y4 ) + y2 ! y4 .

The constraint that the length of that rope is constant requires that

(12)

0=
Hence

d 2 l2

dt 2

d 2 y2
dt 2

d 2 y2
dt 2
=2

!2

d 2 y4
dt 2

d 2 y4
dt 2

(13)

(14)

These three constraint conditions for the accelerations imply (after a little algebra) that

d 2 y2
dt 2

= !4

d 2 y1

(15)

d 2 y1

(16)

dt 2

Collecting our results we have that

m1 g ! T1 = m1
m2 g ! T2 = m2

dt 2
d 2 y2

(17)

dt 2

T1 = 4T2
2

d y2
dt

(18)
2

= !4

d y1
dt 2

(19)

We can now solve for the accelerations of the two objects. We can rewrite Eq. (17) using
Eqs. (18) and (19) as
d2y
m2 g ! (1 / 4)T1 = !4m2 21 .
(20)
dt
Then multiply Eq. (16) by !(1 / 4) yielding

!(1 / 4)m1 g + (1 / 4)T1 = !(1 / 4)m1

d 2 y1
dt 2

(21)

Now add Eqs. (20) and (21) yielding

(m2 ! (1 / 4)m1 )g = !(4m2 + (1 / 4)m1 )

Therefore we can solve for the acceleration of block 1,

d 2 y1
dt 2

(22)

d 2 y1
dt

((1 / 4)m1 ! m2 )g
.
4m2 + (1 / 4)m1

(23)

(4m2 ! m1 )g
.
4m2 + (1 / 4)m1

(24)

Finally we use Eq. (19) and find that

d 2 y2
dt

The units are correct. We are looking for an acceleration and we have a dimensionless
fraction times the acceleration of gravity. If m1 = 0 , body 2 is simply in free fall with
acceleration g . In the limit m1 >> m2 , body 2 accelerates upward at 4 times the rate at
which body 1 falls. These are the results we would expect on simple physical grounds.

Problem 8 In the system shown above m1 > m2 . The pulleys are massless and
frictionless, and the rope joining the blocks has no mass. The coefficient of static friction
between the blocks and the tables is greater than the coefficient of kinetic friction:
s > k . The downward acceleration of gravity is g .

a) Imagine that when the system is released from rest body 3 accelerates downward
at a constant rate of magnitude a, but only one of the other blocks moves. Which
block does not move, and what is the magnitude and direction of the friction force
holding it back.
b) Now consider the case where, when released from rest, all three blocks begin to
move. Find the accelerations of all three blocks and the tension in the rope.
Solution a) In this part a y3 is a given quantity. Let T be the tension in the rope. The
free body diagram is shown below.

Choose positive j pointing down. Then Newtons Second Law becomes

Fy = m3a y3 .

(1)

m3 g ! 2T = m3a y3 .

(2)

1
m (g ! a y3 ) .
2 3

(3)

which we can solve for the tension

T=

T exceeds the static friction force limit on one block but not the other which is given for
the ith block by the expression

f s,max,i = s N i = s mi g .

(4)

Therefore the lightest block moves first., hence block 1 with mass m1 does not move. The
free body diagram for block 1 is

Choose positive i to the left. Therefore Newtons Second Law becomes

f1 ! T = m1ax1 = 0 .

(5)

Therefore

f1 = T =

1
m (g ! a y3 ) .
2 3

(6)

Solution b): Now consider the case where, when released from rest, all three blocks begin
to move. The obvious dynamical variables are the accelerations ax1 , ax 2 , and a y3 . The
other variable that influences the motion of each of the masses is the tension T . These are
the four variables we will try to find. Hence we need four equations that must be solved
to find the dynamics of this system. The free body diagrams for block 1 is shown below.
We choose positive i to the left and positive j pointing down in each diagram.
Newtons Second Law for the Block 1 are

f1 _ T = m1ax1 .

(7)

m1 g ! N1 = m1a y1 = 0 .

(8)

N1 = m1 g .

(9)

Therefore
Because block 1 is moving

f1 = k N1 = k m1 g .

(10)

k m1 g ! T = m1ax1 .

(11)

So Eq. (7) becomes

The free body diagrams for block 2 is shown below. We choose positive i to the right
and positive j pointing down in each diagram.

Newtons Second Law for the Block 2 are

f 2 ! T = m2 ax 2 .

(12)

m2 g ! N 2 = m2 a y 2 = 0 .

(13)

N 2 = m2 g .

(14)

f 2 = k N 2 = k m2 g .

(15)

k m2 g ! T = m2 ax 2 .

(16)

Therefore
Because block 2 is moving

So Eq. (12) becomes

The free body force diagram for block 3 is shown below. We choose positive j pointing
down.

The analysis is the same has in the previous part so we collect our three equations Eqs.
(2), (11), and (16),

m3 g ! 2T = m3a y3 .

(17)

k m1 g ! T = m1ax1 .

(18)

k m2 g ! T = m2 ax 2 .

(19)

Let L be the length of the rope and R the radius of the pulleys.

Then these quantities are related by the geometrical constraint

L = x1 + x2 + 2 y3 +

!
!
R+ R+!R.
2
2

(20)

Because we assumed that the string does not stretch, the quantity L is a constant and
hence if we take two derivatives of Eq. (20) we have that

0 = ax1 + ax 2 + 2a y3 .

(21)

We now have four equations in the four unknowns the accelerations ax1 , ax 2 , and a y3
and the tension T . We solve Eq. (18) for ax1 ,
ax1 = k g !

T
.
m1

(22)

ax 2 = k g !

T
.
m2

(23)

solve Eq. (19) for ax 2 ,

and solve Eq. (17)

a y3 = g !

2T
.
m3

(24)

Now substitute these results into Eq. (21) yielding

0 = k g !

"
T
T
2T %
.
+ k g !
+ 2$ g !
m1
m2
m3 '&
#

(25)

We now solve Eq. (25) for the tension

! 1
1
4$
2g( k + 1) = T # +
+ &.
" m1 m2 m3 %

(26)

or

T=

2g( k + 1)
! 1
1
4$
#m +m +m &
" 1
2
3%

(27)

We now solve for the accelerations. Eq. (22) becomes

ax1 = k g !

2g( k + 1)
"
m1 4m1 %
$1 + m + m '
#
2
3 &

(28)

solve Eq. (23) for ax 2 ,

ax 2 = k g ! T = k g !

2g( k + 1)
" m2
1 4m2 %
$m +m + m '
# 1
2
3 &

(29)

and solve Eq. (17) for a y3 ,

a y3 = g !

4g( k + 1)
" m3 m3
%
$ m + m + 4'
# 1
&
2

(30)