Two carts of masses m1=2.00 kg and m2=4.00 kg connected by a cord that passes over a small frictionless pulley. Each cart rolls freely with negligible friction. Calculate the acceleration of the carts and the tension in the cord.

Tension T = 18.3N

acceleration a = 3.25m/s².

Explanation:

The full solution can be found in the attachment below.

The tension force in the string is the same for both masses and they have a common acceleration assuming that the string does not stretch and is massless.

The solution to this question involves the application of newton's second law which states that the vector sum of the forces acting on a body is equal to the mass of the body multiplied by the acceleration of the body in the direction of the force.

In the solution below it is assumed that the net force acts towards the right.