A Frictionless Pulley of Negligible Mass Is Hung from the Ceiling

question 58

Multiple Choice

A frictionless pulley of negligible mass is hung from the ceiling using a rope, also of negligible mass. Two masses, m₁ and m₂ (m₁ < m₂) are connected to the rope over the pulley. The masses are free to drop. The magnitude of the tension T_top is ____ the sum of the weights W₁ = m₁g and W₂ = m₂g.

• A) less than
• B) equal to
• C) greater than
• D) unable to tell
• E) depends on T₁ and T₂.

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