A man is having difficulty pulling a loaded sled accross the ice in Figure 1. He

Question

A man is having difficulty pulling a loaded sled accross the ice in Figure 1. He ties an additional piece of rope to the one he is using to pull the sled, making it twice as long as before in Figure 2. After lenghtening the rope, he finds that the sled is easier to pull. Which of the following statements best explains why pulling the sled is easier after the rope is lenghtened?

A. Lenghtening the rope increases the magnitude of the horizonal component of the force vector used to pull the sled

B. Lenghtening the rope increases the man's leverage for pulling the sled by decreasing the lenght of the sled's load arm

C. Lenghtening the rope decreases the amount of contact friction between the sled runners and the ice

D. Lenghtening the rope increases the magnitude of the vertical component of the force vector used to pull the sled

Explanation / Answer

When the rope is extended the following occurs:

The angle between the rope and the horizontal surface is lower, therefore:

The horizontal component of the force applied by the man (Tension) will be greater, therefore it will be easier to move the sled

The answer is then

A. Lenghtening the rope increases the magnitude of the horizonal component of the force vector used to pull the sled

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