Dynamics Problem Solving

2021-04-18

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 Table of Contents:
Dynamics Problem Solving
Click on a topic to go to that section

· Problem Solving Approach and Elevator Cable Problem

· Elevator Scale Problem

· Pulling Two Boxes

· Pushing Two Boxes

· Atwood's Machine

· Two Boxes and a Pulley

· Velocity-Time Graph
 Problem Solving Approach
and
Elevator Cable Problem

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Contents
Problem Solving – A General Approach

· Read the problem carefully.

· Draw a sketch or free body digram (FBD) if necessary

· List the given variables, any appropriate constants and the

variable you are solving for.

· Select or derive an appropriate equation to use.

· Solve for the missing variable without numbers, algebraically.

· Put the numbers in and solve for a numerical answer, and

check that you have the right units.
 Defining the Object of Interest
Newton's Laws can be applied to all objects.

If there are multiple objects in a problem, you can use

Newton's Laws to write equations for each of the objects.

And you can solve these equations for each of the objects.

Carefully choosing which object to work with could lead to a

quicker, easier path to the solution.

But, you will get the same answers either way.

 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward.

b. moves at a constant speed downward.

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward.

Draw a free body diagram (FBD)
showing all the forces on the cable
supporting the elevator, so the tension
force (FT) is upwards and the elevator's
FT weight (mg) is downward.

The direction of the acceleration should

a=0 always be indicated somewhere near
the FBD.
mg
The words "moves at a constant speed"
means that the acceleration is equal to
zero, so we write a = 0.
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward (cont.)

Use Newton's Second Law to solve for the tension, FT :

ΣF is a vector sum; vectors in the

up direction are positive and are
FT negative in the down direction.
That includes all forces and the
a=0 acceleration.

mg is in the down direction, so it

mg is assigned a negative value.
Acceleration is zero for this case.
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward (cont.)

Use Newton's Second Law to solve for the tension, FT :

Now that we have the

algebraic solution, we can
FT substitute in the numerical
values for the variables.
a=0 (rounded)

mg
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

b. moves at a constant speed downward.

The FBD is the same as when the

FT elevator was moving up at a
constant speed.
a=0
The cable is still pulling up on the
elevator and gravity is still pulling
mg down.
The elevator is moving at constant
speed, so acceleration is zero.
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

b. moves at a constant speed downward (cont.).

FT
a=0
The tension force in the
mg cable, when it is moving with
a constant velocity, either up
or down, is equal to the
weight (W = mg) of the
elevator when at rest. (rounded)
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

The forces on the FBD stay in the same

directions.
The acceleration is positive, since it is FT
in the upward direction.
Newton's Second Law Equation is now:
a

mg
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2 (cont.).

FT
Substitute in the numerical values:
a

mg

The tension is now greater than the

weight of the elevator when at rest.
In the FBD, FT should be longer
than mg, but you might not have
known that when you started the
problem!
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

The forces on the FBD stay in the same

directions.
The acceleration is negative, since it is
FT
in the downward direction.
a
Newton's Second Law Equation is now:

mg
 Elevator Cable
An 1800 kg elevator moves up and down on a cable. Calculate
the tension force in the cable when the elevator:

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2 (cont.).

FT
Substitute in the numerical values:
a

mg

The tension is now less than the

weight of the elevator when at rest.
In the FBD, FT should be shorter
than mg, but you might not have
known that when you started the
problem!
 Elevator Cable Discussion
If the elevator is not accelerating then the tension
force is equal to the weight of the elevator.

It doesn't matter if the elevator is stationary, moving

upwards at constant speed or moving downwards at
constant speed. All of these mean acceleration is
zero.

It takes a greater amount of tension to accelerate the

elevator upwards and, less tension is needed if the
elevator is accelerating downwards.

Initially, you might not draw the lengths of the forces

correctly on your FBD, but you will still get the correct
answer in the end as long as the directions are
correct!
 Elevator Scale Problem

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 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward.

b. moves at a constant speed downward.

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward.

In this problem, the object of interest is the
student. The elevator surrounds but is not
touching the student, so there is no force FN
from the elevator in our problem.

The forces on the student are the normal

force, FN and the student's weight, mg.
mg
The "scale measurement" is the value of
the normal force.
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward (cont.).

The solution is very similar to finding

the tension in the elevator cable. The FN
only difference is the FBD, where the
tension force is replaced by the normal a=0
force, FN, that the scale exerts on the
student.
mg
The acceleration is zero, because the
student (and elevator) is moving at
constant speed.
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

a. moves at a constant speed upward (cont.).

Use Newton's Second Law to solve

for the normal force, FN.

FN
a=0
the scale's reading is
equal to the weight,
mg
(W = mg) of the
student at rest.
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

b. moves at a constant speed downward.

The forces on the FBD point in the
FN
same direction as when the elevator
moves up. The scale is still pushing up a=0
on the student and gravity is pulling
down.
mg
The acceleration is still zero.
Newton's Second Law gives the same
equation, so we expect to get the same
answer as (a).
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

b. moves at a constant speed downward (cont.).

FN
a=0

mg
The same answer as
part (a) as expected.
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

The forces on the FBD stay in the same

directions. FN
The acceleration is positive, since it is
in the upward direction. a
Newton's Second Law Equation is now:
mg
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

c. accelerates upward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2 (cont.).

FN
Substitute in the numerical values:
a

mg

The scale measurement is greater

than the weight of the student at
rest. In the FBD, FN should be
longer than mg, but you might not
have known that when you started
the problem!
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

The forces on the FBD stay in the same

directions.
FN
The acceleration is negative, since it is
in the downward direction. a
Newton's Second Law Equation is now:
mg
 Elevator Scale
A 65 kg college student stands on an analog bathroom scale inside
an elevator car. State the scale measurement when the elevator:

d. accelerates downward at a rate of 2.4 m/s2.

FN
Substitute in the numerical values:
a

mg

The scale measurement is less

than the weight of the student at
rest. In the FBD, FN should be
shorter than mg, but you might not
have known that when you started
the problem!
 Elevator Scale Discussion
When accelerating upward the student feels heavier, and when
accelerating downward, the student feels lighter.

When the elevator is moving at a constant velocity, the student

feels the same as if the elevator was not moving.

Next time you're in an elevator - see if that works! When the

elevator starts moving upward, you should feel heavier. When it
slows down before it stops, you should feel lighter.
 Pulling Two Boxes

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 Pulling Two Boxes
Two boxes, connected by a cord, are pulled horizontally on a
frictionless surface with an applied force of 40.0 N. Box A has a
mass of 10.0 kg; Box B has a mass of 12.0 kg.

a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.

b. Draw a free body diagram for box B.
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.
d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord connecting boxes A and B.

Fapp
B A
 Pulling Two Boxes
a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.

Fapp
B A

a Box A is pulled forward by the applied force,

FNA
Fapp, so it is drawn to the right.
FT Fapp
A cord comes out of the back of box A, so
there is a tension force to the left, FT.
mA g The tension force on an object always points in
the same direction that the cord comes comes
out of the object.
 Pulling Two Boxes
a. Draw a free body diagram for box A (cont.).

Fapp
B A

a FT can be drawn smaller than the applied

FNA
force Fapp, because the boxes accelerate to
FT Fapp the right. But, the length of the arrows is not
very important, as the math will tell us the
answer.
mA g
Each box will have a different normal force,
so we use FNA to denote the normal force
for box A.
mAg represents the weight of box A
 Pulling Two Boxes
b. Draw a free body diagram for box B.
Fapp
B A

a Box B is pulled forward by the cord coming out of

FNB it to the right, so there is a tension force, FT , to
the right.
FT
This tension force is the same magnitude and in
the opposite direction as the tension force for box
A. They are an action-reaction pair.
mB g
Be careful! The applied force, Fapp, does NOT act
on box B - it is not touching box B.
The normal force is also different since box B
has a different mass, and is labeled FNB.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.

Start by writing the Newton's Second Law equations for box A.

Separate your forces and acceleration into the x direction

(horizontal) and the y direction (vertical).

a
FNA x direction ( )
FT Fapp

mA g Only include the highlighted

forces and acceleration in
the x-direction for now.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.

Continue with the y-direction forces and acceleration.

a y direction ( )
FNA
FT Fapp

mA g The box is not moving

up and down, so there
is no acceleration in
the y direction (a = 0)
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

x direction y direction
a
FNA
FT Fapp

These are the two equations derived from our FBD.

mA g The y equation is only used to find the normal force,
which could be used to calculate a friction force.
Since there is no friction in this problem, we will only
work with the x direction equation.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We need to repeat this process for Box B.

x direction y direction
a
FNB
FT

mB g As with box A, we're only interested in the

x direction equation, because there is no
friction in the problem.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Each FBD gives us 2 equations, one in each direction.

Box A Box B

Only 2 equations are helpful in finding FT:

 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

The problem is that we don't know the tension force, FT.

But, as long as we have the same number of unknowns as
equations, we can solve for both unknowns!

This is called solving "simultaneous equations" as both

equations have the same unknown variables and are solved
together.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

But first, we have to reduce the 2 equations and 2 unknowns to

1 equation and 1 unknown.

There are three different ways to accomplish this goal, and

each one will be shown:

· Substitution
· Setting FT of each equation equal to each other
· Adding or subtracting the two equations
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two

boxes (cont.).
Substitution: Substitute FT = mBa from the
second equation into the first equation.

add mBa to both sides

divide both sides by (mA + mB)

 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

The second method for finding acceleration is
setting FT of each equation equal to each other:
Solve the first equation for FT

Isolate FT by
adding -Fapp
to both sides
multiply both
sides by -1
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Setting FT of each equation equal to each other:

setting equations equal

add mAa to both sides
switch sides
factor out a

divide both sides by (mA + mB)

 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

The third method to solve the simultaneous equations is
add the two equations:

add equations

switch sides
factor out a

divide both sides by (mA + mB)

 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp= 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

All three methods found the same answer, with varying degrees
of difficulty.

· Substitution
· Setting FT of each equation equal to each other
· Adding or subtracting the two equations

Experience will let you choose the most efficient way of solving
these simultaneous equation problems.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Now that we have the algebraic solution, we can substitute in

the numerical values:
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord connecting boxes A and B.

We now have to go back to the equations we

developed to find FT.
But which one to use?

Box A Box B
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord connecting boxes A and B (cont.)

Either equation with FT will work, and we'll do both to show that.
The easier one to use is the second one, because it is much
shorter.
 Pulling Two Boxes
Fapp = 40.0 N mA =10.0 kg mB = 12.0 kg

d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord connecting boxes A and B (cont.)

Both equations give the same answer; the second one just
uses fewer steps. You can pick whichever equation you'd like
when solving your problems.
 Pushing Two Boxes

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 Pushing Two Boxes
Two boxes on a table are pushed horizontally on a frictionless
surface by a force, Fapp, of 30.0 N. Box A has a mass of 5.00 kg;
Box B has a mass of 8.00 kg.

a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.

b. Draw a free body diagram for box B..
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.
d. Find the force of box A on B, FBA.

Fapp = 30 N
A B
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.

Fapp = 30 N
A B

FNA
FAB The applied force, Fapp, pushes box A to the right.
Fapp
Fapp does NOT push on box B at all. Contact
forces only act on the object that they actually
mA g touch.

a This problem is very similar to the "Pulling

Two Boxes" problem....
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

a. Draw a free body diagram for box A (cont.).

Fapp = 30 N
A B

FNA
FAB Box A pushes box B with a force, FBA, to the
Fapp right.
Box B pushes back on box A with an equal
mA g magnitude force, FAB, as explained by
Newton's Third Law.
a
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

b. Draw a free body diagram for box B.

Fapp = 30 N
A B

FNB
FBA The only force acting on box B in the horizontal
direction is the force that box A exerts on box B.
The magnitude of FBA = FAB.
mB g
Fapp does NOT push on box B at all. Contact
a forces only act on the object that they actually
touch.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.

Fapp = 30 N
A B

The applied force will move both boxes together, so they will
have the same acceleration.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Start by writing the Newton's Second Law equations for box A.

Separate your forces and acceleration into the x direction

(horizontal) and the y direction (vertical).

a
FNA x direction ( )
FAB Fapp

mA g
Only include the highlighted
forces and acceleration in
the x-direction for now.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.00 kg mB = 8.00 kg.

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Continue with the y-direction forces and acceleration for box A.

a y direction ( )
FNA
FAB Fapp

mA g The box is not moving

up and down, so there
is no acceleration in
the y direction (a = 0)
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

x direction y direction
a
FNA
FAB Fapp
These are the two equations for box A derived from
our FBD.
mA g
The y equation is only used to find the normal force,
which could be used to calculate a friction force.
Since there is no friction in this problem, we will only
work with the x direction equation.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We need to repeat this process for Box B.

x direction y direction
a
FNB
FBA

mB g As with box A, we're only interested in the

x direction equation, because there is no
friction in the problem.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Each FBD gives us 2 equations, one in each direction.

Box A Box B

Only 2 equations are helpful in finding FBA:

 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA = 5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

There are two simultaneous equations with two unknown

variables. Please refer back to the "Pushing Two Boxes"
problem for a complete discussion of simultaneous equations.

We will use the substitution method to solve these equations

and find the acceleration of the boxes.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA =5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We need to reduce the 2 equations and 2 unknowns to 1

equation and 1 unknown. Since FBA = FAB, replace FBA in the
second equation with FAB.
 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA =5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Substitute FAB = mBa into the first equation:

substitution
add mBa to both sides
switch sides
factor out a

divide both sides by (mA + mB)

 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA =5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Substitute in numerical values:

 Pushing Two Boxes
Fapp = 30.0 N mA =5.0 kg mB = 8.0 kg

d. Find the force of box A on B, FBA.

Use the second equation as it has less math. Either equation will
work as FBA = FAB.

extra math

less math

The force of box A on B is less than

the applied force on box A.
 Atwood's Machine

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 Atwood's Machine
An Atwood's machine consists of two masses connected by a
massless, non stretchable rope and a massless, frictionless pulley.
Mass A is 20.0 kg and Mass B is 50.0 kg. They are held at rest, and
then released.

a. Draw a free body diagram and write the Newton's Second Law
equation for mass A.
b. Draw a free body diagram and write the Newton's Second Law
equation for mass B.
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two masses.
d. Find the tension, FT, in the rope.

A B
 Atwood's Machine
a. Draw a free body diagram and write the Newton's Second Law
equation for mass A.
· Mass A is lighter than mass
B, so we expect its
Mass A acceleration to be upwards,
and since mass B is heavier it
F will accelerate downwards.
T
a
· The acceleration is the same
mAg amount (but different
directions) for the masses
since they are connected to
A B each other.

· FT is the same for both

masses because the rope is
there are no x direction lightweight and the pulley is
forces in this problem frictionless
 Atwood's Machine
b. Draw a free body diagram and write the Newton's Second Law
equation for mass B.

Mass B · mBg and a are

negative since they
FT are in the downward
direction.
a
· Be sure to label
mBg each mass with the
proper subscript.
The masses are not
A B the same!

there are no x direction

forces in this problem
 Atwood's Machine
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two masses.

A
· We have two equations
FT with two unknown
a variables, FT and a.
mAg
· We will need to solve both
equations simultaneously to
B determine FT and a.
FT
· Use the "Setting FT of
a each equation equal to
mBg each other" method to
solve the equations.
 Atwood's Machine
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two masses (cont.).

A
· There are now two equations for FT:
FT
a
mAg

· Set them equal to each other, eliminating FT as

B a variable. Now you have one equation and
one variable, a. You can now solve for a.
FT
a
mBg
 Atwood's Machine
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two masses (cont.).

Set the 2 equations equal to each other, eliminating FT as a

variable to obtain one equation and one variable, a.

move the variables

with "a" to the left
side and "g" to the
right side of the
equation
 Atwood's Machine
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two masses (cont.).

· Wait to substitute numerical values into the equation until

you have solved for a.

· This is the preferred way of doing physics problems,

sometimes variables drop out and you can change the
magnitude of the initial variables, to quickly find a new
solution.
 Atwood's Machine
d. Find the tension, FT, in the rope.

Since FT is the same for both masses, we can use either

equation to find FT. We'll use both to show that you get the
same result.
 Two Boxes and a Pulley

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 Two Boxes and a Pulley
Two boxes are connected by a massless, non stretchable cord
and a massless, frictionless pulley. The coefficient of kinetic
friction , μ k , between box A and the table is 0.20. The mass of
box A is 5.0 kg. The mass of box B is 2.0 kg.

a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.

b. Draw a free body diagram for box B.
c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.
d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord connecting boxes A and B.

B
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
a. Draw a free body diagram for box A.
A

B A cord comes out of the front of box A, so

there is a tension force to the right, FT.
Box A
The tension force on an object always
points in the same direction that the cord
FNA comes out of the object.
Ffr FT The friction force acts to the left, in the
opposite direction of the box's motion.
The normal force is opposite the
mA g gravitational force.

a
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
b. Draw a free body diagram for box B.
A

B
A cord comes out of the top of box B, so
there is a tension force in the up
Box B direction, FT.
The tension force on an object always
FT points in the same direction that the cord
comes out of the object.
a There is no normal force as the box is not
in contact with another box. The
mB g gravitational force is down.
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes.

Start by writing the Newton's Second Law equations for box A.

Separate your forces and acceleration into the x direction

(horizontal) and the y direction (vertical).

Box A
FNA x direction ( )
Ffr FT

mA g Only include the highlighted

forces and acceleration in
the x-direction for now.
a
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Continue with the y-direction forces and acceleration.

Box A
y direction ( )
FNA
Ffr FT
The box is not moving
mA g up and down, so there
is no acceleration in
a the y direction (a = 0)
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Box A x direction y direction
FNA
Ffr FT

mA g
These are the two equations derived from our FBD.
a The y equation is used to find the normal force,
which will be used to calculate the friction force.
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We need to repeat this process for box B.

Box B
y direction
The only forces acting
FT are in the y-direction.

mB g
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We now have 2 equations for acceleration, but three unknowns,

FT, Ffr and a.

Box A Box B
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We know that the general form for friction is Ffr = μkFN, so we

can substitute μkFN for Ffr:

We also know that

so

We can substitute this in for FN above.

 Two Boxes and a Pulley

μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

Now our two equations and three unknowns have been reduced
to two equations and two unknowns, and we can continue
solving.
Box A Box B
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

We now have 2 equations with two unknowns.

Box A
Box B

set equations equal

move equations with "a" to left
side and equations with "g" to
the right side
factor out a and g
divide both sides by (mA+ mB)
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

c. Find the acceleration, a, of the two boxes (cont.).

A

Once we have the acceleration

equation, we can substitute in
the numerical values.
 Two Boxes and a Pulley
μ k = 0.20 mA = 5.0 kg mB = 2.0 kg

d. Find the tension, FT, in the cord.

horizontal A

vertical
You can use either equation to
find tension. But first factor out
the masses, so the math is
easier! We show both equations.
 Velocity-Time Graph

Return to
Table of
https://njctl.org/video/?v=9cCWPteMMPA Contents
 Velocity-Time Graph
A 2300 kg car travels in a straight line on a horizontal road. The
relationship between the car’s velocity and the time are given by
the graph.

a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s?

b. What is the net force applied by the engine during the first 20 s?
c. What is the car's acceleration from 20 s to 40 s?
d. What is the net force applied by the engine from 20 s to 40 s?
e. What is the car's acceleration from 40 s to 50 s?
f. What is the net force applied by the engine from 40 s to 50 s?
 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s?

Draw a vertical line at

t = 20 s and record the
velocity.
The velocity is 20 m/s. The
velocity at 0 s is 0 m/s.
Calculate the acceleration:
 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

a. What is the car's acceleration during the first 20 s (cont.)?

· The slope, m, of a line on

a velocity-time graph is
also equal to the
(20, 20) acceleration of the object
(in this case, a car).
· Use the two labeled points
to find the slope.
(0, 0)

· Acceleration equals slope:

 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

b. What is the net force applied by the engine during the first 20 s?

Calculate the force:

 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

c. What is the car's acceleration from 20 s to 40 s?

Draw a vertical line at

t = 20 s and t = 40 s,
finding that the velocity is a
constant 20 m/s.
The acceleration is zero.
Calculate the acceleration
for illustration:
 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

d. What is the net force applied by the engine from 20 s to 40 s?

There is no acceleration,
so there is no force.
Calculate the force for
illustration:
 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

e. What is the car's acceleration from 40 s to 50 s?

Draw a vertical line at

t = 40 s and record the
velocity. The velocity
decreases from 20 m/s to
0 m/s at t = 50 s.
Calculate the acceleration:
 Velocity-Time Graph
mcar = 2300 kg

e. What is the net force applied by the engine from 40 s to 50 s?

Calculate the force:

 Velocity-Time Graph Discussion
When the slope of a line on a velocity-time graph is positive, the
acceleration is positive.

When the slope of the line is negative, the acceleration is negative.

When the slope of the line is zero, the acceleration is zero.

Horizontal lines represent constant velocity and zero acceleration.