[gigglez3576]

Two objects of masses of 1 kg and 5 kg are connected together by a light string that passes over a frictionaless pulley. What is the tension in the string? What is the Acceleration of the block?

This question doesn't come with any type of diagram or description of the setup. Do I assume that these masses are just hanging or that one is on a frictionless surface? How would I go about solving this? Please help. :(

[ebaines]

From the description I think you can assume that you have two blocks hanging from either side of a pulley, coinnected by a string over the pully so that the two blocks must move in tandem (one falls and the other rises). Because one mass is greater than the other that heavier mass will fall and the lighter mass will rise. To find the answers do this:

1. First find out how the two blocks behave as a system. Use . The sum of forces is the weight of the two blocks acting in opposite directions, and the total lmass of the system is the sum of the masses of the two bocks. So you can find the acceleration of the system.

2. Once you have a value for a, use to calculate the total force acting on one of the blocks (it doesn't matter which one). The sum of forces acting on a block is the tension in the string pulling upward minus that block's weight (W=mg) acting downward. You know its mass m, and you know its acceleration a from above. Solve for the tension in the string.