Imagine a tug-of-war contest between red and blue teams.
(a) Early on in the proceedings, the two teams are equally matched and so there
is no movement of the rope at all.
(b) Having been more moderate over lunch, the blue team begins to pull the red
team along at an increasing speed in a straight line.
(c) The red team steady themselves but only to the point where they are being
pulled at constant speed in a straight line.
Describe each of the stages (a)–(c) in this contest in terms of the forces exerted
by the teams on the rope, and whether or not the forces are balanced.
The Attempt at a Solution