---
title: "Two sleds of equal mass \\(m\\) rest on a frictionless horizontal surface and are connected by a taut, light horizontal rope. A student applies a constant horizontal pulling force of magnitude \\(F_0\\) to the lead sled, causing both sleds to accelerate together along a straight line. An onboard sensor measures the tension in the connecting rope to be \\(T = \\dfrac{1}{2}F_0\\).  Which of the following statements provides the correct physical explanation for why the connecting rope tension \\(T\\) is less than the applied force \\(F_0\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120569/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:41:39+00:00"
---

# Two sleds of equal mass \(m\) rest on a frictionless horizontal surface and are connected by a taut, light horizontal rope. A student applies a constant horizontal pulling force of magnitude \(F_0\) to the lead sled, causing both sleds to accelerate together along a straight line. An onboard sensor measures the tension in the connecting rope to be \(T = \dfrac{1}{2}F_0\).

Which of the following statements provides the correct physical explanation for why the connecting rope tension \(T\) is less than the applied force \(F_0\)?

Two sleds of equal mass \(m\) rest on a frictionless horizontal surface and are connected by a taut, light horizontal rope. A student applies a constant horizontal pulling force of magnitude \(F_0\) to the lead sled, causing both sleds to accelerate together along a straight line. An onboard sensor measures the tension in the connecting rope to be \(T = \dfrac{1}{2}F_0\).

Which of the following statements provides the correct physical explanation for why the connecting rope tension \(T\) is less than the applied force \(F_0\)?

![A horizontal ground line represents a flat frictionless surface. Two identical rectangular blocks of mass \(m\) sit on the surface, spaced apart horizontally. The left block is labeled \(m\) and the right block is labeled \(m\). A single thin horizontal line connects the right side of the left block to the left side of the right block, representing a taut connecting rope. A horizontal vector arrow originates at the center of the right face of the right block, points to the right, and is labeled \(F_0\). No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787460099-qItP3i.jpg)

- **A.** The lead sled absorbs a portion of the applied force to overcome its own internal inertia before transmitting the remaining force through the rope to the trailing sled.
- **B.** The applied force must accelerate the combined mass of both sleds, whereas the rope tension only needs to accelerate the mass of the trailing sled.
- **C.** Newton's third law requires the rope to exert an equal and opposite backward force on the lead sled, which partially cancels the applied force until the system reaches translational equilibrium.
- **D.** The tension in the connecting rope decreases as the sleds speed up because less force is required to sustain acceleration once an object is already moving.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/120569/*