Final answer:
To use a wire cutter and calculate its IMA, you measure the distance from where the effort force is applied (handles) to the pivot and the distance from the load to the pivot (jaws holding the wire). The IMA is obtained by dividing the effort arm distance by the load arm distance. In this case, with a 10 cm effort arm and 2 cm load arm, the IMA is 5.
Step-by-step explanation:
To understand how to use a wire cutter and calculate its Ideal Mechanical Advantage (IMA), consider an electrician using the cutter. The handles are gripped 10 cm from the pivot, and the wire is placed between the jaws 2 cm from the pivot. The cutter blades are 2 cm wide and 0.3 cm thick.
To find the overall IMA, we use the formula IMA = (d_effort)/(d_load), where d_effort is the distance from the effort force applied to the pivot and d_load is the distance from the load force to the pivot.
Applying this formula, the IMA would be 10 cm (effort arm) / 2 cm (load arm), giving us an IMA of 5. This means that the force applied by the electrician is magnified by a factor of 5 in the cutting action on the wire. Thus, if the electrician applies a force at the handles, the force exerted by the jaws on the wire will be five times that force.