Answer to Question #252472 in Physics for Ellea

Question

1.  A Maya bird sits on stretched telephone cable wire. Is the tension in the wire greater than, less than, or equal to the weight of the Maya? Explain your answer. You may include a sketch.

2. In a game of tug-of-war, the team that pushes the ground harder in a horizontal direction wins. Explain why. You may want to include a sketch

Answer 1

1. The tension is much greater than the weight of the bird because for the wire to be in equilibrium, the force of gravity must be balanced by vertical components of tension, the vectors of tension are directed almost horizontally:

2. Because for something to move (assume 'something' here is the other team), the net force must be not zero. The net force in tug-of-war game is the vector sum of forces applied by both teams pulling the rope. For the net force to be different from zero, on of the forces must be greater than other.