MP120, Problem Sheet Four, Newton’s Laws

1. Rory, Aurora and Raoul are three lions fighting over a piece of meat of mass 12
kg. Each lion exerts a horizontal pull. Rory pulls with a force of 800 N. Aurora,
who is 120o to Rory’s right, exerts a force of 400 N. Raoul is 140o to Rory’s left.
The meat accelerates in Rory’s direction.

(a) Find the force which Raoul is exerting.

(b) Find the magnitude of the acceleration.

2. A mass of 40 kg is suspended by a light string from the ceiling of a lift of mass

200 kg.

(a) The lift aceelerates upwards at 1.2 ms−2 . Find the tension in the lift cable
and the tension in the string.
(b) The string breaks if it suffers a tension of more than 700 N. Find the greatest
possible tension in the lift cable if the string remains intact.

3. The two blocks shown in the sketch below are connected by a string of negligible
mass. The coefficient of friction between the mass M1 and the table is µ, but the
pulley is frictionless. If the system is released from rest, find the values for µ for
M1 to begin sliding to the right. How far does the block M1 slide in time t for
such values of µ?

M1
g

M2

Figure 1: Q3. Mass on a table connected to a hanging mass.

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4. Two blocks are in contact on a smooth horizontal table. A constant horizontal
force F is applied to one of the blocks as shown in the drawing below. Find the
forces of contact between the two blocks.
g
F
M1 M2

Figure 2: Diagram Q4.

5. A block of mass M2 rests on a block of mass M1 which lies on a frictionless table.

The coefficient of friction between the blocks is µ. What is the maximum horizontal
force which can be applied to the blocks for them to accelerate without slipping
on one another if the force is applied to (a) block 1 and (b) block 2?

M2 g

M1

Figure 3: Diagram Q5.

6. Consider the system of strings and pulleys as shown below. The strings are mass-
less and inextensible, and the pulleys are massless and frictionless. A person exerts
a constant force F downward on the right as shown to lift the mass M on the left.
What is the minimum force F required to lift the mass M ? Is this machine helping
the person to lift the mass?

M
F

Figure 4: Diagram Q6.

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7. Two masses A and B lie on a frictionless table as shown below. They are attached
to either length of a light rope which passes around a frictionless pulley of negligible
mass. The pulley is attached to a light string connected to a hanging mass C via
a second frictionless pulley. Find the acceleration of each mass.

MA

MB
g

MC

Figure 5: Diagram Q7.

8. The diagram shows a block of mass m resting on a smooth inclined surface of a 30o
wedge of mass M , which in turn rests on a smooth horizontal surface.
√ The system
is released from rest. Show that the acceleration of the wedge is 3mg/(m + 4M )

g
m
M
30 o

Figure 6: Diagram Q8.

9. Consider the machine below. All the surfaces are fricitionless.

(a) What force F must be applied to M1 to keep M3 from rising or falling?

(b) If F = 0, find the acceleration of M1 .

M2
F M3
M1

Figure 7: Diagram Q9.

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10. A painter of mass M stands on a platform of mass m and pulls himself up by two
ropes which hang over smooth and light pulleys, as shown. He pulls each rope with
constant force F downwards and accelerates upward with a uniform acceleration
a. Find a, neglecting the fact that nobody could do this for long.

Figure 8: Diagram Q11.