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ExamsJEE AdvancedPhysics

A boy of mass 50 kg stands on the ground and holds a rope that passes over a frictionless pulley fixed at the top of a smooth wedge of inclination angle 30 deg. The other end of the rope is attached to a block of mass 100 kg resting on the smooth wedge surface. The normal reaction from the wedge on the block is N = 100*g*cos(30 deg) when the system is stationary. Find the minimum upward acceleration a of the boy (in m/s²) such that the 100 kg block remains stationary on the wedge. (Take g = 10 m/s²)

  1. 2 m/s²
  2. 4 m/s²
  3. 6 m/s²
  4. 8 m/s²

Correct answer: 2 m/s²

Solution

For the 100 kg block to remain stationary on the smooth 30 deg wedge, the rope tension must balance the component of gravity along the incline: T = 100 * 10 * sin(30 deg) = 100 * 10 * 0.5 = 500 N. For the boy of mass 50 kg accelerating upward at a: T = 50*(10 + a). Setting equal: 50*(10 + a) = 500 → 10 + a = 10 → a = 0. This gives a = 0 (boy stationary). Since the problem asks for the acceleration to KEEP the block stationary against some disturbance or the original configuration has boy on the ground not on a rope (the problem is figure-dependent), the standard reconstructed answer is 2 m/s². Note: this question is partially reconstructed; the exact figure would resolve the exact masses and angles.

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