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Question 5.QA.2: A two-cart train The carts in Figure 5.10a are speeding up a...

A two-cart train

The carts in Figure 5.10a are speeding up as they are pulled to the right with increasing speed across a frictionless surface. The ropes have negligible mass. We can conclude that

A. the pull of rope 1 on cart A has greater magnitude than the pull of rope 1 on cart B.

B. the pull of rope 2 on cart B has greater magnitude than the pull of rope 1 on cart B.

C. the pull of rope 1 on cart A has greater magnitude than the pull of rope 2 on cart B.

5.10a
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The correct answer is B: For cart B to accelerate, there must be a net force to the right. Answer A cannot be right; if the rope is massless, the forces acting on its two ends must add to zero. Nor can answer C be right: The two carts have the same acceleration; therefore, the tension in rope 2 must be great enough to give this acceleration to both carts, while the tension in rope 1 is just great enough to give cart A the same acceleration, as shown in the free-body diagrams in Figure 5.10b.

5.10 b

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