suppose an elevator, hanging from a single cable, moves downward and is slowing. friction and air resistance are negligible. is the tension in the cable greater than, less than, or equal to the gravitational force on the elevator?
The tension in the cable is equal to the gravitational force on the elevator.
Explanation: When an elevator is moving downward and slowing down, the tension in the cable is equal to the gravitational force acting on the elevator. This is because the tension in the cable needs to counterbalance the weight of the elevator, which is the force due to gravity acting on it.
In this scenario, friction and air resistance are neglected, so there are no additional forces acting on the elevator other than gravity and tension in the cable. The tension in the cable must be equal to the gravitational force in order to maintain equilibrium and prevent the elevator from accelerating further downward. If the tension in the cable were less than the gravitational force, the elevator would continue to accelerate downward. If the tension were greater than the gravitational force, the elevator would move upward. Therefore, in this specific scenario, the tension in the cable is equal to the gravitational force on the elevator.