Question

A bunch of bananas hangs from the end of a rope that passes over a light, frictionless pulley. A monkey of mass equal to the mass of the bananas hangs from the other end of the rope. The monkey and the bananas are initially balanced and at rest. Now the monkey starts to climb up the rope, moving away from the ground with speed v. What happens to the bananas?

• A. They move downward at speed v
• B. They remain stationary
• C. They move up at speed $\frac{1}{2}$ v
• D. They move up at speed v

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

They move up at speed v

Answer 2

T – mg = ma₁ T – mg = ma₂

Since a₁ = a₂ ; i.e., both bananas and monkey have same acceleration hence they move up at speed v.