3 Classes of Levers

1st Class has

fulcrum in
the middle.

2nd Class has

load in the
middle.

3rd Class has

effort in the
middle.

A first-class lever is a lever in which the fulcrum is

located in between the effort and the load. This is
the lever that you think of whenever you think of
levers.

a can opener

a hammer

a see-saw

E
L
L

a pair of pliers

a pair of scissors

nails clipper

F
L

F
E

(when its
used to pull nails)

The second-class lever is a little strange.

In a second-class lever, the load is between the
fulcrum and the effort.

a paper cutter

a wheel-barrow

L
F
F

a nut-cracker

a bottle opener

This fellow is the

oddest of all. The thirdclass lever has the
effort between the load
and the fulcrum.
a broom

L
E

a stapler

L
L

a baseball bat

L
F

a fishing rod

your arm

F
E

egg slicer

(your elbow or
wrist is the fulcrum)

a hammer

E
F

L
tweezers

(when its
used to hammer nails)