- #1
henryd
- 4
- 0
Homework Statement
I have the professor's solutions for a homework we handed in. There is a part that is confusing me. We have the following equation:
$$E = \frac{1}{2}(m_1 + m_2)\dot{x}^2-(m_1-m_2)gx$$
Homework Equations
We want to find: $$dE/dt = 0$$
The Attempt at a Solution
The solution says the correct answer is:
$$dE/dt = 0 = (m_1 + m_2)\dot{x}_1\ddot{x}_1 - g(m_1-m_2)\dot{x}_1$$
Why does it contain [itex]\dot{x}\ddot{x}[/itex] instead of just [itex]\ddot{x}[/itex]?
Is it because of the chain rule?
Thanks!