How could a cord withstand a force greater than its breaking strength?

Question

How could a 100 N object be lowered from a roof using a cord with a breaking strength of 80 N without breaking the cord? My attempt to answer this question is that we could use a counter weight. But I don't really understand the concept behind counterweights so I hope someone can clear that up for me and if there is a better answer I'll love to know it.

Answer 1

I can't think of a way to use a counterweight either. However, if the cord is folded in half and the two ends are held on the roof, the ends can be used to lower the object. In this way, the cord shares the weight of the object and each side of the cord supports 50N.