Pull Force vs Tension: Toy Car on Pulley

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The discussion centers on the forces acting on a toy car connected to weights via a pulley system. The key point is that the force causing the car's acceleration is tension, as it is the force transmitted through the string connecting the weights to the car. While some may refer to this as a pull force, the distinction lies in terminology; tension describes the internal force within the string, while pull refers to the external force exerted on the car. Both terms can be used interchangeably in this context, assuming ideal conditions of a frictionless and massless system. Ultimately, understanding the difference in language helps clarify the physics involved.
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You have a toy car on a table and a single pulley on the end. You tie a string to the car, and the other end to some 20 gram weights next put the string on the single pulley.
The force causing the car to accelerate when you let it go is it Fp or Ft
(pull force or tension)
 
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the force of gravity causes the car to move. but the force will be in the form of tension since that is the only things connecting your weight to the car.
 
Reason I asked, because someone told me it was a pull force (because the rope is pulling on the car) when I thought it was tension...thanks
 
yyttr2 said:
You have a toy car on a table and a single pulley on the end. You tie a string to the car, and the other end to some 20 gram weights next put the string on the single pulley.
The force causing the car to accelerate when you let it go is it Fp or Ft
(pull force or tension)

yyttr2 said:
Reason I asked, because someone told me it was a pull force (because the rope is pulling on the car) when I thought it was tension...thanks

It seems to me your question is about language rather than physics.

- I would use the word 'tension' to refer to what is happening inside the string. Along the length the fibers of the string are under tension.
- I would use the word 'pull' to refer to the force that the string exerts upon the car. Gravity pulls on the string, the string pulls on the car.
But that's just my personal preference in how I would use those words.

Assuming the string and the pulley can be thought of as frictionless and massless, the tension and the pull will be equal in strength.

Cleonis
 
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