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Question
What is a lever?
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Solution
A lever is a special case of the application of the law of moments. It is a rigid bar, straight or bent, which is capable of rotation about a fixed point or a fixed-line, called the axis of rotation. This fixed point or the axis of rotation is called the fulcrum. An effort E is applied at point A of the lever to overcome resistance (or load) at another point B, as shown in the diagram.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Which class of lever will always have MA > 1 and why?
A man uses a crowbar of length 1.5 m to raise a load of 75 kgf by putting a sharp edge below the bar at a distance 1 m from his hand.
- Draw a diagram of the arrangement showing the fulcrum (F), load (L) and effort (E) with their directions.
- State the kind of lever.
- Calculate:
- load arm,
- effort arm,
- mechanical advantage and
- the effort needed.
Which class of lever found in the human body is being used by a boy when he holds a load on the palm of his hand.
The following belong to which class of lever?
A see-saw
The following belong to which class of lever?
Human-arm
Shears, used for cutting metals and scissors used for cutting clothes are both examples of levers of the first order. However, whereas the shears always have short blades and long handles, the scissors often have blades much longer than the handles. Explain, why this is so?
When we want to use a machine as a force multiplier, which class of lever should we preferably use? Give a simple diagram of such a lever.
The diagram shows the use of a lever.
- State the principle of moments as applied to the above lever.
- Which class of lever is this? Give an example of this class of lever.
- If FA = 100 cm, AB = 90 cm, calculate the minimum effort required to lift the load.
State the types (or kinds) of lever, and give two examples of each kind.
A crowbar of length 100 cm is used to lift a load of 5 kgf. It has its fulcrum at a distance of 20 cm from the load. Calculate:
(i) the mechanical advantage of a crowbar and,
(ii) the effort applied at the other end.
