a 72 n force accelerates mass m₁ by 5.0 m/s² and imparts to it an acceleration of 20.0 m/s².What acceleration will the same force impart to the two masses when they are joined together?
We first compute the 2 masses: M1: 72N = M1 (5.0m/s^2) --> M1 = 14.4 kg and M2: 72N = M2 (20 m/s^2) --> M2 = 3.6 kg. We combine the masses to determine the acceleration: 72 N = (3.6 kg + 14.4 kg) A --> A = 4.0 m/s^2.
