Animal in an Elevator#

A \(\rm{kg}\) cat sits inside of a \(\rm{kg}\) elevator. The elevator is connected to a motor by a wire. The maximum power that can be produced by the motor is 1705 \(\rm{W}\).

Part 1#

Suppose that the elevator is accelerating upwards at + 2.51 \(\rm{\frac{m}{s^2}}\).

Treating the cat and elevator as separate systems, draw a free-body diagram for the cat and another for the elevator. Upload your diagrams as a single PDF.

Answer Section#

File upload box will be shown here.

Part 2#

Consider the acceleration in Part 1. What is the normal force from the floor on the cat?

Answer Section#

Please enter in a numeric value in \(\rm{N}\).

Part 3#

Consider the acceleration in Part 1. What is the tension in the wire?

Answer Section#

Please enter in a numeric value in \(\rm{N}\).

Part 4#

Assume that the elevator is going upwards at a constant speed.

Now consider the system composed of the elevator and the cat together.

Draw the free-body diagram for this system. Upload your diagram as a single PDF.

Answer Section#

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Part 5#

If the elevator is going upwards at a constant speed, with what speed is the elevator moving if the motor is delivering the maximum possible power?

Answer Section#

Please enter in a numeric value in \(\rm{m/s}\).

Attribution#

Problem is licensed under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
The Creative Commons 4.0 license requiring attribution-BY, non-commercial-NC, and share-alike-SA license.