A `20 kg` monkey has a firm hold on a light rope that passes over a frictionless pulley and is attached to a `20 kg` bunch of bananas. The monkey looks upwards , sees the bananas and starts to climb the rope to get them.
(a) As the monkey climbs ,do the bananas move up , move down or remain at rest?
(b) As the monkey climbs ,does the distance between the monkey and the banana decrease, increase or remain contact?
(c) The monkey releases her hold on the rope .What happens to the distance between the monkey and the bananas while she is falling ?
(d) Before reaching the ground , the monkey grabs the rope to stop her fall. What do the bananas do?

Explanation

The point to this problem is that the monkey and the bananas have the same weight, and the tension in the string is the same at the point where the bananas are suspended and where the monkey is pulling. In all the cases, the monkey and the bananas will have the same net force and hence the same acceleration, direction, and magnitude.
(a) The bananas move up.
(b) The monkey and bananas always move at the same velocity, so the distance between them stays the same.
(c ) Both the monkey and the bananas are in free fall, and as they have the same initial velocity, the distance between them does not change .
(d) The bananas will slow down at the same rate as the monkey, if the monkey comes to a stop, so will the bananas.