Question

Two masses m1 =2.0 kg and m2 =4.0 kg are attached to each other via a red cord that runs over a pulley as shown in the diagram below. Mass

m2 is allowed to fall to the ground from h = 1.0 m as shown in the diagram. Assume both the pulley and surface of the incline are frictionless and both the string and pulley are massless and answer the following questions in SI units to the correct number of significant figures: a) as mass m, falls what is the acceleration of the two masses? b) calculate the velocity of the masses just before mass m2 hits the ground using the law of conservation of energy AK + AU = 0 where AK is the change in the kinetic energy, and AU is the change in the potential energy, of the two masses.

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