Question

Using a simple pulley and rope system, a crewman on an Arctic expedition is trying to lower a crate of mass ?1=5.39 kg to the bottom of a steep ravine of height ?=23.8 m . The crewman of mass ?2=55.6 kg is walking while holding the rope, being careful to lower the crate at a constant speed of ?0=1.50 m/s . Unfortunately, when the crate reaches a point ℎ=13.2 m above the ground, the crewman steps on a slick patch of ice and slips. The crate immediately accelerates toward the ground, dragging the hapless crewman across the ice and toward the edge of the cliff. Assuming the ice is perfectly slick, so that there is no friction between the crewman and the ice once he slips and falls down, at what speed ?1 will the crate hit the ground? Assume also that the rope is long enough to allow the crate to hit the ground before the crewman slides over the side of the cliff, and that the pulley is frictionless. ?1= At what speed ?2 will the crewman hit the bottom of the ravine? Assume no air resistance. ?2=

Answer 1