Discussion

The constraint acting between the motions of particles A and B is that they are connected by an inextensible cable. Note that this connection does NOT result in the speeds of the two blocks being the same. Instead, the relationship between these two speeds is dictated by the geometry of the cable at a given instant.  Your assignment is to derive this relationship and perform the appropriate differentiation to determine how these speeds are related.

Observations from the animation:

• On release, particle A starts its motion before particle B moves.
• As the system moves, both A and B pick up speed but do so in a disproportionate way.
• The speed of B will eventually approach a speed that is half of the speed of A. Can you see that in your analysis?

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