Problem 10.11: A modified Atwood's machine with a real pulley


Please wait for the animation to completely load.

A 1.0-kg cart (not shown to scale) on a low-friction track is connected to a string and a 0.5-kg hanging object as shown in the animation (position is given in meters and time is given in seconds). The pulley has a uniform mass distribution in the shape of a disk and therefore affects the motion of the system. Restart.

  1. What is the acceleration of the system?
  2. What is the tension in the string? (There are two regions of the string to consider.)
  3. What is the mass of the pulley?
  4. What is the moment of inertia of the pulley?

Note that the coordinates for each object (the positive x direction) are already chosen for you.

Problem authored by Aaron Titus.