Assume that the block on the table in Figure P8.43 has half the inertia of the hanging block.

(a) You push the block on the table to the right so that it starts to move. If the magnitude of the frictional force exerted by the table on the table block is half the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted on this block, what is the block's acceleration after you remove your hand?

(b) What would this acceleration be if you had pushed the block to the left? Consider only a short time interval after you stop pushing.

Data from Figure P8.43