The assembly consists of two blacks A and B which have a mas

The assembly consists of two blacks A and B, which have a mass of 15 kg and 40 kg, respectively. Part A Determine the distance B must descend in order for A to achieve a speed of 3.3 m/s starting from rest.

Solution

The kinetic energy of the mass 2 equals the potential energy of mass 1 at the instant it achieves 3.3 m/s.

So,

1/2 x m2 x v² = m1 x g x h

The height to descend,

h = (0.5 x 15 x 3.3) / (40 x 9.81) = 0.0625 m