Concept Clarification

Kristin

I know that if two people are pulling on a rope with the same force, the tension in the rope is the force that one of them is pulling at because the rope is pulling back or something like that. I don't really understand how this concept works. What happens if they are pulling on the rope with different forces?

Ouabache

if they are pulling from opposite sides of the rope, what would you think happens if someone is pulling harder than the other?

Kristin

If one person pulls harder, the other person would most likely move. I would think that the tension in the rope would be the larger pull, but that doesn't really make sense either.

Ouabache

You are right. So in this case, there would be a net force = (stronger pull - weaker pull) in the direction of the person pulling harder.