🔍 Key Concepts

• Difference between bends, splices, and knots • How strength of the rope is affected by different methods of joining • Typical use and security of a square knot vs more permanent joins

💭 Think About

• Which option is specifically designed to permanently join two rope ends with high strength rather than for temporary tying? • Among bends, splices, and knots, which generally retains the most line strength and is used when failure would be most dangerous? • Think about which choice is commonly taught for neatly finishing a single rope end rather than joining two ropes together.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which options are true joining methods for two ropes and eliminate anything that is mainly for finishing one rope end. • Recall that some knots (like a reef or square knot) are not recommended for critical loads—keep that in mind. • Remember: splices typically retain more strength of the rope than most knots or bends.