Rope tension hauling a 20 kg bucket up at 0.5 m/s²

Answer: tension = 206.133 N (tension 21.02 kgf).

What we know

  • Mass: 20 kg
  • Acceleration (up +, down −): 0.5 m/s²

Step by step

Given
m = 20 kg, a = 0.5 m/s²
Formula
T = m × (g + a)
Substitute
T = 20 × (9.80665 + 0.5)
Result
T = 206.133 N

All results

Tension206.133 N
Tension21.02 kgf

Open the tension calculator with these numbers → and change any of them.

The physics

Tension is the pulling force transmitted along a rope, cable or string when it is stretched taut. For an ideal (massless, inextensible) rope over a frictionless support, that force is the same at every point — which is why one number describes the whole rope.

Standard acceleration of gravity →