B2-16: VECTOR ADDITION WITH ROPE AND STUDENTS

ID Code: B2-16
Purpose: Demonstrate vector addition of forces
Description: Two "strong" students pull the ends of the rope. A "weaker" student pulls crosswise on the center of the rope. The ends of the rope will be pulled inward by a large force.
Availability: Available

Since discussions of this demonstration often segue into student questions about tug-of-war games and the forces involved, I thought I'd leave this link here to a recent blog post on the topic:

what-if.xkcd.com/127/

also see www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/insight.htm#mechanics