Mechanics: Newton's Laws of Motion
Newton's Laws: Audio Guided Solution
Problem Set NL20, Question 7:
A person walks into an elevator holding two masses hanging on ropes, one below the other. The top mass is 5.20 kg and the lower mass is 3.40 kg. The elevator begins to move downward with an acceleration of 5.05 m/s/s before reaching a constant velocity. How much tension (in Newtons) is in the rope between the masses during the acceleration?
Audio Guided Solution
Habits of an Effective Problem Solver
An effective problem solver by habit approaches a physics problem in a manner that reflects a collection of disciplined habits. An effective problem-solver...
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... read the problem carefully and develop a mental picture of the physical situation. If necessary, sketch a simple diagram of the physical situation to help you visualize it.
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... identifies the known and unknown quantities in an organized manner, equating given values to the symbols used to represent the corresponding quantity - e.g., m = 1.25 kg, µ = 0.459, vo = 0.0 m/s, Ø = 41.6º, vf = ???.
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... uses physics formulas and conceptual reasoning to plot a strategy for solving for the unknown quantity.
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... identifies the appropriate formula(s) to use.
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... performs substitutions and algebraic manipulations in order to solve for the unknown quantity.
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