In the figure, pulley A is fixed to the ceiling. An ideal rope is attached at one end to block 1 of mass \(m_1\), it passes around a second pulley, labelled B, and its other end is fixed to the ceiling. A second ideal rope attaches pulley B to a second block of mass \(m_2\). As a result, pulley B and block 2 move together.
The goal of the problem is to calculate the accelerations of blocks 1 and 2.
The solution of this problem is divided into four parts:
- Part I : Set up the system of equations.
- Part II: Constraint condition - find the relationship between the accelerations.
- Part III: Constraint condition using a virtual displacement argument.
- Part IV: Solving the system of equations.
The video below will help you to set up the equations needed to answer the question.
