Question

Two ice skaters, Paul and Tom, are each holding on to opposite ends of the same rope. Each pulls the other toward him. The magnitude of Paul's acceleration is 1.25 times greater than the magnitude of Tom's acceleration. What is the ratio of Paul's mass to Tom's mass?

Answer 1

The ratio of Paul mass to Tom will be 0.8

Step-by-step explanation:

We have given acceleration of Paul IS 1.25 greater than acceleration of Tom

`a_p=1.25a_t`

Let mass of Paul is
`m_p` and mass of Tom is
`m_t`

According to newton's second law

Force F = mass ×acceleration

As each pull the rope others towards him

So
`m_pa_p=m_ta_t`

`m_p1.25a_t=m_ta_t`

`(m_p)/(m_t)=0.8`

So the ratio of Paul mass to Tom will be 0.8