Final answer:
Mechanical advantage is the ratio of output force to input force in simple machines, allowing them to reduce the force needed to do a specific amount of work while maintaining energy conservation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mechanical advantage describes how simple machines can reduce the input force that is needed to perform a job. The mechanical advantage (MA) is the ratio of the force produced by the machine (output force) to the force applied to the machine (input force).
Simple machines, which include levers, gears, pulleys, wedges, and screws, can multiply or augment a force that we apply, but they must operate within the bounds of energy conservation, signifying no machine can do more work than the energy put into it.
While they can't reduce the amount of work done, they can change the amount of force you must apply and the distance over which you apply the force.