Question

How do you do this question? Please include free body diagrams and clear explanation, so I can understand.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Draw a free body diagram for each disc.

Disc A has three forces acting on it: 86.5 N up, T₁ down, and Wa down.

∑F = ma

86.5 N − T₁ − Wa = 0

Wa = 86.5 N − T₁

ma × 9.8 m/s² = 86.5 N − 55.6 N

ma = 3.2 kg

Disc B has three forces acting on it: T₁ up, T₂ down, and Wb down.

∑F = ma

T₁ − T₂ − Wb = 0

Wb = T₁ − T₂

mb × 9.8 m/s² = 55.6 N − 36.5 N

mb = 1.9 kg

Disc C has three forces acting on it: T₂ up, T₃ down, and Wc down.

∑F = ma

T₂ − T₃ − Wc = 0

Wc = T₂ − T₃

mc × 9.8 m/s² = 36.5 N − 9.6 N

mc = 2.7 kg

Disc D has two forces acting on it: T₃ up and Wd down.

∑F = ma

T₃ − Wd = 0

Wd = T₃

md × 9.8 m/s² = 9.6 N

md = 0.98 kg