An Atwood machine consists of two masses m1 and m2 attached to the ends of a light string that passes over a light, frictionless pulley. When the masses are released, the mass m1  is easily shown to accelerate down with an acceleration a= g * (m1-m2)/(m1+m2) Suppose that m1  and m2 are measured as  m1=100+/-1 gram and m2=50+/-1 gram. Derive a formula of the uncertainty in the expected acceleration in terms of the masses and their uncertainties, and then calculate  for the given numbers.

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  1. An Atwood machine consists of two masses m1 and m2 attached to the ends of a light string that passes over a light, frictionless pulley. When the masses are released, the mass m1  is easily shown to accelerate down with an acceleration

a= g * (m1-m2)/(m1+m2)

Suppose that m1  and m2 are measured as  m1=100+/-1 gram and m2=50+/-1 gram. Derive a formula of the uncertainty in the expected acceleration in terms of the masses and their uncertainties, and then calculate  for the given numbers.

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