- #1
iJamJL
- 58
- 0
Homework Statement
A red box and a blue box sit on a horizontal, frictionless surface. When horizontal force F is applied to the red box, its acceleration has magnitude a = 5.09 m/s2.
a) If force F is applied to the blue box, its acceleration has magnitude a = 1.24 m/s2. Find mred/mblue, the ratio of the mass of the red box to the blue box.
b) Now, the two boxes are glued together. If horizontal force F is now applied to the combination, find a-combo, the magnitude of the acceleration of the combination of boxes.
Homework Equations
F = ma
The Attempt at a Solution
I already correctly answered question a, which came to be a ratio of .2436. The second part, however, always confuses me because there has to be some sort of manipulation. Intuitively, when we put together the two boxes, we are combining their masses, making the total acceleration even smaller than what they were individually. This is true because we are applying the same amount of force to both of the objects. To get the numerical answer for the combined acceleration, I have no idea. I already know that adding the two accelerations together (two vectors in the same direction) and then multiplying it by the ratio (6.33 m/s^2 * .2436) gives me an incorrect answer, so that is probably a poor approach. I'm just stuck, like the rest of the problems I've had. lol it's quite frustrating.