When two pulleys of different diameters are connected by a belt, how does the larger diameter pulley rotate compared to the smaller diameter pulley?

When two pulleys of different diameters are connected by a belt, the larger diameter pulley rotates slower than the smaller diameter pulley. This is due to the relationship between the pulleys' diameters and their rotational speeds.

The belt connecting the pulleys moves at a consistent linear speed. For the larger pulley, which has a greater circumference, it requires a longer distance to complete one revolution compared to the smaller pulley. As a result, to maintain the same belt speed, the larger pulley will rotate fewer times per minute than the smaller pulley, resulting in a slower rotational speed for the larger diameter pulley.

In practical applications, this principle is often utilized in systems where torque multiplication is required. By having a larger pulley driving a smaller one, the system can achieve higher speeds in the smaller pulley while sacrificing some rotational speed in the larger pulley, which is effective for mechanisms requiring different operational speeds.