Tension is the force applied by which component on the object it stretches?

• A. A friction force opposing motion.
• B. A stretched string.
• C. A torque causing rotation.
• D. A fluid pressure.

Answer: (B)

Tension is the pulling force transmitted by a stretched string, rope, or cable. It acts on the object along the length of the string, pulling toward the other end of the string. This is why a stretched string pulls on the object it’s attached to, causing a linear pull along the rope.

Other forces don’t fit this role: friction opposes motion between surfaces and acts parallel to those surfaces, not along a string; a torque relates to rotational effects around an axis rather than a straight-line pull; fluid pressure is a normal force from a fluid on a surface, not the pulling along a flexible connector.