Moving pulley and mass applet

In this applet a light inextensible string is fixed at one end to the ceiling. It passes under a moveable pulley and over a light pulley, which is also fixed to the ceiling, and finally is connected to a mass hanging from its free end.

  1. Fill in the masses of the moveable pulley and the hanging mass.
  2. Press Apply.
  3. Press Release Mass and observe the movements. Try to estimate the extent of the movement of the pulley and of the mass. Which has double the acceleration of the other?
  4. Calculate the acceleration of the pulley and of the mass.
Note 1: In this applet the positive direction of motion of pulley B is taken as UP and of mass C is DOWN. The speed of movement of the masses has been reduced to allow you to see more clearly what is happening.

Press the Answers button to check your results.

Note 2: If B actually moves down you see that the answer has a negative sign. Try different mass combinations and observe the movement in each case.

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