A Fireman Is Sliding Down a Fire Pole

question 6

Multiple Choice

A fireman is sliding down a fire pole.As he speeds up,he tightens his grip on the pole,thus increasing the vertical frictional force that the pole exerts on the fireman.When the force exerted on his hands equals the force that Earth exerts on him,what happens to the fireman?

• A)The fireman comes to a stop.
• B)The fireman descends with slower and slower speed.
• C)The fireman descends with a smaller but non-zero acceleration.
• D)The fireman continues to descend, but with constant speed.
• E)The acceleration of the fireman is now upward.

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Definitions:

Social Categorization

The assignment of a person one has just met to a category based on characteristics the new person has in common with other people with whom one has had experience in the past.

Cognitive Dissonance

A psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously.

Operant Conditioning

A learning process in which the frequency of an organism's behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.

Positive Reinforcement

A process in operant conditioning where a behavior is followed by a rewarding stimulus, increasing the likelihood of that behavior occurring again.