Two masses over a heavy pulley: acceleration or the pulley's moment of inertia
This type of question, asked 3 times: 21 Jan 2026 S2, 22 Jan 2026 S2, 24 Jan 2026 S1. All 3 questions below, oldest first.
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Question 1
21 Jan 2026 S2
7The pulley shown in figure is made using a thin rim and two rods of length equal to diameter of the rim. The rim and each rod have a mass of M . Two blocks of mass of M and m are attached to two ends of a light string passing over the pulley, which is hinged to rotate freely in vertical plane about its centre. The magnitudes of the acceleration experienced by the blocks is (assume no slipping of string on pulley.)Tap an option to check your answer.
Question 2
22 Jan 2026 S2
22Two masses m and 2 m are connected by a light string going over a pulley (disc) of mass 30 m with radius . The pulley is mounted in a vertical plane and it is free to rotate about its axis. The 2 m mass is released from rest and its speed when it has descended through a height of 3.6 m is . (Assume string does not slip andQuestion 3
24 Jan 2026 S1
16Two masses 400 g and 350 g are suspended from the ends of a light string passing over a heavy pulley of radius 2 cm . When released from rest the heavier mass is observed to fall 81 cm in 9 s . The rotational inertia of the pulley is . ()Tap an option to check your answer.