Question

Assertion:
In a ‘tug-of-war’ game, both teams exert force on the other through the rope.
Reason:
The team that pulls the rope harder wins.
(A) Both Assertion and Reason are correct and Reason is the correct explanation for the Assertion.
(B) Both Assertion and Reason are correct but Reason is not the correct explanation for the Assertion.
(C) Assertion is correct but reason is incorrect.
(D) Both Assertion and Reason are incorrect.

Answer 1

Tug-of-war is basically a game, in which two teams standing on opposite sides try to pull the rope. The team which makes the other team to cross the line wins the game. This question uses the concept of Newton’s Law of Motion. More precisely, the Third law of Newton should be applied in order to get the answer.

Complete step by step answer:
In a game of ‘tug-of-war’, if both the teams exert a similar amount of force on the rope, then no one is going to win the game. In order to win the game, we should look at the concept of physics acting behind it. This game utilizes the concept of Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Suppose you tie a rope to the wall and start pulling it. While you are applying force on the rope, an equal amount of force is applied by the wall in the opposite direction. This leads to a condition of the balanced force and no one moves from the place.
Similarly, when both the teams apply an equal amount of force on the rope, forces will cancel each other, resulting in a balanced condition, and there will be no movement. So in order to win the game, the team should not apply greater force on the rope. But rather should apply a greater amount of force on the ground. In this way, a greater net force will act on the winning team.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
You should be clear that, in tug-of-war games, exerting greater force on the rope will not make you win the game. Also, when the system is in unbalanced condition, it will be more in the direction of the net force.