Given,
The mass m₂=9.00 kg
The acceleration of the crates, a=2.50 kg
The tension in the string that connects the two crates is, T=11.25 N
(b)
The tension in the string causes the mass m₁ to accelerate at the given acceleration. Thus from Newton's second law,
[tex]T=m_1a[/tex]
Thus, on substituting the known values,
[tex]\begin{gathered} 11.25=m_1\times2.5 \\ m_1=\frac{11.25}{2.5} \\ =4.5\text{ kg} \end{gathered}[/tex]
Therefore the mass m₁ is 4.5 kg
(c)
The total force applied is causing the two blocks to accelerate at the given rate. Therefore, from Newton's second law,
[tex]F_T=(m_1+m_2)a[/tex]
On substituting the known values,
[tex]\begin{gathered} F_T=(9.00+4.50)2.50 \\ =33.75\text{ N} \end{gathered}[/tex]
Thus, the total force applied to the crates is 33.75 N
