Question

A force of 4 N gives a mass m₁ an acceleration of 8 ms^-2 and a mass m₂ an acceleration of 20 ms^-2. What would be the acceleration if the same force acts on both the masses tied together?

Answer 1

We know F = m X a
m= F/a
so we can calculate mass of each body
Mass of body 1 m₁ = 4/8 = 0.5 kg.
Mass of body 2 m₂ = 4/20 = 0.2 kg.
Total mass when two masses are tied together M = 0.5 + 0.2 = 0.7 kg.
Now as force is acting on total mass so acceleration produced is
a= 4/0.7 = 5.71 ms^-2.