What is the behavior of the moveable pulley in a two pulley system?

In a two-pulley system, specifically one that utilizes a moveable pulley, the mechanics of how the pulley operates are important to understand. The moveable pulley is designed to reduce the amount of effort needed to lift a load. When you pull down on the rope that is attached to the moveable pulley, the load attached to the pulley will rise, but the relationship between the movements of the fixed and the moveable pulley is crucial.

By the design of the moveable pulley, for every unit of distance that the fixed pulley moves downward (when the rope is pulled), the moveable pulley moves upward by half that distance. This is because the rope is essentially 'sharing' the load between the two sections that support the moveable pulley. As a result, when you pull the rope down, the moveable pulley moves up, but since it is effectively moving with the tension from both sides of the rope, it only moves half as much as the fixed pulley moves down.

This relationship illustrates the mechanical advantage provided by the pulley system, making it easier to lift heavy objects by pulling down on the rope. Thus, the choice indicating that the moveable pulley moves up half the distance of the fixed pulley accurately describes the behavior of the moveable