Question

In a tug-of-war contest, two men pull on a horizontal rope from opposite sides. The winner will be the man who:

• A. exerts greater force on the rope
• B. exerts greater force on the ground
• C. exerts a force on the rope which is greater than the tension of the rope
• D. makes a smaller angle with the vertical

Answer 1

The correct option is B exerts greater force on the ground

According to Newton's third law, during tug of war the men exert greater force on the ground to get an opposite reaction force against the other team. The greater the force they exert on the ground, more reaction force they can gather to pull the rope.