A block of mass 4 kg is placed on a smooth horizontal table. It is connected by a light inextensible string passing over a smooth pulley at the edge of the table to a hanging block of mass 1 kg . The acceleration of the system in terms of acceleration due to gravity ( g ) is:

Step-by-step solution

Let the acceleration of the system be a and the tension in the string be T . For the hanging block of mass 1 kg , the equation of motion is: 1g - T = 1a For the block of mass 4 kg on the smooth horizontal table, the driving force is only the tension: T = 4a Adding the two equations, we get: 1g = (1 + 4)a g = 5a a = g 5 Answer: g 5