The chart below shows the amount of coal mined in four different states of usa in the year 2005. state amount of coal mined (in billion tons) west virginia 37 wyoming 68 montana 120 illinois 78 in which state was the greatest amount of coal mined in 2005? illinois montana wyoming west virginia

Visualize the problem and identify special cases first examine the problem by drawing a picture and visualizing the motion. apply newton's 2nd law, ∑f⃗ =ma⃗ , to each body in your mind. don't worry about which quantities are given. think about the forces on each body: how are these consistent with the direction of the acceleration for that body? can you think of any special cases that you can solve quickly now and use to test your understanding later? one special case in this problem is if m2=0, in which case block 1 would simply fall freely under the acceleration of gravity: a⃗ 1=−gj^.