A wheel is like a lever that mechanically increases your force so that you can move something. Look at a wrench. It may not look like a wheel and an axle, but consider how it works. The head of the wrench grabs hold of a nut or bolt. You move the handle in a circle around the nut. The circle that you make with your hand as you tighten or loosen the bolt is larger than the circle that the head of the wrench makes as it turns the bolt. The longer the handle, the greater the mechanical advantage and the greater the increase in force applied to the bolt.
If you think that this is very much like what happens when you use a lever, you are right! In fact a wheel and axle is nothing more than a rotating lever that moves around a fixed point. That point is the fulcrum.
Look again at the equation you learned for determining the mechanical advantage of a lever. Remember:
Mechanical Advantage
MA = length of effort arm ÷ length of resistance arm
Fill in the blanks correctly.
The ___?___ the handle, the _______ the mechanical advantage which _______ the force applied to the bolt.
- increases
- decreases
- longer
- shorter
- greater
- less
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Fill in the blanks correctly.
The _______ the handle, the ___?___ the mechanical advantage which _______ the force applied to the bolt.
- increases
- decreases
- longer
- shorter
- greater
- less
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Fill in the blanks correctly.
The _______ the handle, the _______ the mechanical advantage which ___?___ the force applied to the bolt.
- increases
- decreases
- longer
- shorter
- greater
- less
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Click Next to Continue
Summary
Questions answered correctly:
Questions answered incorrectly:
