Massless Pulley in AP Physics 1

Definition

A massless pulley is a pulley that has no mass and therefore does not contribute to the overall forces acting on a system. It changes the direction of a force without changing its magnitude.

Related terms

Tension:

The force transmitted through an object when it is pulled or stretched. In this case, tension can be different on both sides of the pulley due to differences in masses.

Friction:

The resistance that opposes motion between two surfaces in contact. Since we have a frictionless pulley here, there is no friction involved.

Equilibrium:

A state where all forces acting on an object cancel out, resulting in zero net force and no acceleration.