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Levers & Other Simple Machines: What Simple Machine Is Represented in Your Body?
Levers & Other Simple Machines: What Simple Machine Is Represented in Your Body?
Levers & Other Simple Machines: What Simple Machine Is Represented in Your Body?
Fulcrum
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7/20/2009
The ability of a lever to perform a task You can calculate mechanical advantage
depends on its mechanical advantage. by dividing the output force, in newtons,
by the input force, in newtons as shown
• Mechanical advantage is the ratio of
in the formula below:
output force produced by a simple
machine to the applied input force.
• The higher the output force in relation
to the input force, the greater the
mechanical advantage.
Levers confer mechanical advantage. When the input and output arms are the
same length (because the fulcrum is in
• The input force that is applied to a lever the middle of the lever), the input and
and the output force are related to the output forces are the same.
lengths of the input and output arms.
The input and output forces are different For some levers, the output arm is
if the fulcrum is not in the center of the longer than the input arm and the
lever. output force is less than the required
• The side of the lever with the longer arm input force.
has the smaller force.
• Levers designed this way
achieve
hi a wide
id range off
motion on the output side.
• For example, a broom is a
lever used to sweep floors
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7/20/2009
First-class levers always have the Second class levers always have the
fulcrum between the input force and the output force between the fulcrum and
output force. the input force.
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7/20/2009