I'm drawing the force diagrams for two people pulling in opposite directions on two ends of the same piece of rope (tug of war, basically). When I label the force acting on a person, should it be "force on person A by rope" or "force on person A by Person B"?
(Person B is acting upon the rope, which acts upon Person A, technically, but this assignment is in the context of Newton's 3rd Law...)

Question

I'm drawing the force diagrams for two people pulling in opposite directions on two ends of the same piece of rope (tug of war, basically). When I label the force acting on a person, should it be "force on person A by rope" or "force on person A by Person B"? 
(Person B is acting upon the rope, which acts upon Person A, technically, but this assignment is in the context of Newton's 3rd Law...)

mrnood · Answer

In  my opinion:

The tension in the rope is acting on the person.

Note it acts equal and opposite on each person (assuming they are in equilibrium - i.e. no one is 'winning' at that moment).

(Don't forget gravity - as the person is typically leaning back, supported by the tension in the rope)