Classical Mechanics (Physics 6010)

Jonh Carlos Mojica Decena A01794414

August 29, 2018

Problem1: Atwood's machine. A rope passes over a uniform pulley of mass

M, and Radius R. Masses m1 and m2 , with m1 < m2 , are attached to the ends
of the rope. The system rotates toward m2 with m1 rising and m2 falling with
the same acceleration a. Take the direction of motion as positive for all forces
and velocities. Find the acceleration a.

where, T is the tension force, Fg,m is the

force of gravity with respect to the mass m
From Newton's second law we know.
Fnet
a=
mtot
where Fnet is the sum of all the forces, and Mtot is the total mass of the
system, so for m1 we get

Fnet,1 = T − Fg,m1 = m1 a

similar goes for m_2

Fnet,2 = Fg,m2 − T = m2 a

1
 Since the tension force is the same for both cases, we can solve the Equations
for T and substitute
T = m1 a + Fg,m1

T = Fg,m2 − m2 a

Fg,m2 − m2 a = m1 a + Fg,m1

Fg,m2 − Fg,m1 = m1 a + m2 a

Solving for a.
Fg,m2 − Fg,m1
a=
m1 + m2

m2 g − m1 g
=
m1 + m2
but we are missing the mass added by the pulley. assuming that the pulley
is a solid disk of radius r we can nd the moment of inertia
1
I= M r2
2
and we take its Inertial mass to be 21 M so our acceleration is given by
m2 g − m1 g
a=
m1 + m2 + 21 M