Question

Indicate the ideal mechanical advantage for each of the following machines:

a. First-class lever in which the fulcrum is 10 cm from one end and 40 cm from the other end.
b. Second-class lever in which the fulcrum is at one end of the lever 1 m long; the resistance is suspended at 50 cm, and the effort is applied at the end away from the fulcrum (100 cm).-

Answer 1

For a first-class lever with the fulcrum 10 cm from the effort and 40 cm from the resistance, the ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) is 4. For a second-class lever with the effort applied 100 cm from the fulcrum and the resistance at 50 cm, the IMA is 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) of a lever, we simply divide the length of the effort arm (the distance from the fulcrum to the point where the effort is applied) by the length of the resistance arm (the distance from the fulcrum to the point where the resistance force is located).

a) For a first-class lever with a fulcrum 10 cm from the effort and 40 cm from the resistance, IMA = 40 cm / 10 cm = 4. This means that the ideal mechanical advantage is 4.

b) A second-class lever, with the effort applied at 100 cm and the resistance at 50 cm from the fulcrum, has an IMA = 100 cm / 50 cm = 2. Thus, the ideal mechanical advantage for this second-class lever is 2.