Please do not comment without studying this carefully. Assumptions: Scenario A) appears to involve a movable pulley, but it is unlike your typical arrangement because it is not supporting the weight of the object. There is also no indication that the pulley is functioning as a type of winch (and it is not offering any torque, or gaining any benefit from leverage, or winding the object onto a spool). I Googled this question: "Does a single movable pulley allow for less required force if the object is being pulled along the ground with a horizontal force and the object's weight is not being supported by the rope?" Answer: "No, a single movable pulley does not reduce the required horizontal force for pulling an object across the ground if the rope does not support the object's weight. [ 1 ] Here is why: Mechanical Advantage Applies to Weight The mechanical advantage of a movable pulley system (where the load is suspended) exists because the tension is shared between multiple segments of rope lifting the object against gravity. If the rope isn't lifting the object, there is no weight to distribute..." I chose C), but the book says the answer is A). This is the second question in this book like this, and there are even more. Either I am stupid, or whoever put this together did so hastily (to be generous). Your thoughts? Edit: I am stupid and wrong. The comments so far have been very helpful. I've never used a movable pulley in my life and am just now learning the physics of how they operate. It's not like I ever worked on the docks. I understand now why the answer is A): because friction is effectively acting as if it were gravity pulling horizontally, and the other end of the rope is being pulled by the wall or whatever it is attached to. Therefore, the load is split by both directions of the rope. Thank you! [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]