Two masses m and 2m are connected by a light string going over a pulley (disc) of mass 30m with radius r=0.1m. The pulley is mounted in a vertical plane and it is free to rotate about its axis. The 2m mass is released from rest and its speed when it has descended through a height of 3.6 m is ______ m/s. (Assume string does not slip and g=10m/s2)
Answer: 2
Solution
As the 2m mass falls a height h the m mass rises the same h, so the net loss of potential energy is (2m−m)gh=mgh. This appears as the translational kinetic energy of the two blocks plus the rotational kinetic energy of the disc pulley, with I=21(30m)r2 and ω=rv: