PhysicsLAB: Test Scenario: Pulley-Table Scenario

Refer to the following information for the next nine questions.

A 4.0-kilogram block is initially at rest on a horizontal surface. It is connected to a second block of mass 2.0 kilograms which hangs from a massless cord that passes over a massless, frictionless pulley.

Draw and label all force vectors acting on each of the blocks while the system is at rest.

What is the tension in the cord while this system is at rest?

Determine the coefficient of static friction between the 4-kg block and the table's surface.

A 500-gram slotted mass is then gently eased onto the top of the 2-kg mass and the system begins to accelerate. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the 4-kilogram block and the table's surface is 0.2.

Determine the acceleration of the 4.0 kilogram block.

Determine the tension in the cord while the blocks are accelerating.

If h = 0.80 meters, determine the velocity of the 4.0-kilogram block just as the suspended block strikes the floor.

How much kinetic energy does the system possess just as the suspended block strikes the floor?

How much energy was lost to frictional heating as the 4-kg block slid across the table towards the pulley?

What percentage of the accelerating system's original mechanical energy does this frictional heat represent?