The Principle of Lever

Objectives

After doing this activity, the students should be able to:

1. differentiate one-sided lever from two sided-lever.
2. explain the principle of lever and derive the equilibrium formula.
3. calculate the actual mechanical advantage of lever under given conditions.
4. list some common applications of lever and give their importance to mans life.

Skills

1. Assembling the set up 4. Equation derivation
2. Gathering data 5. Reporting skills
3. Analyzing data 6. Applying new knowledge


Concepts

1. Lever is made of rigid body that is free to turn about an axle called fulcrum.

2. Types of lever:
a. One-sided lever when the load and the force act on the same side of the lever,
defined by the position of the axle
b. Two-sided lever when the force acts on one side and the load acts on the other
side of the lever, defined by the position of the axle.

3. The principle of lever is described as the turning effect of the force on a body. It is the
product of the force and the distance of its line of action from the fulcrum. The
equilibrium of the system is attained when the product of force F and force arm F
a
is
equal to the product of load L and the load arm L
a
.


a a
L L F F =

(The force arm and the load arm are the perpendicular distance of force and
load respectively from the fulcrum.)

4. The actual mechanical advantage (AMA) for lever expresses a relationship between the
load L acting on it and the force F being applied or between the force arm F
a
and the load
arm L
a
. It is defined as the ratio between load L and the force F or ratio between force
arm F
a
and the load arm L
a
.


F
L
AMA = or
a
a
F
L
AMA =


TL - 1


Strategy

1. Review the class on the definition of lever and show different samples of lever.
2. Write on the board lever applications mentioned by the students.
The following questions might be of help:
Have you ever used a lever?
Where did you find lever being used?
How is it used?
3. Classify the lever applications to one-sided and two-sided levers.
Examples: one-sided lever ice tong, forearm, wheelbarrow
Two-sided lever artesian well, seesaw, pair of scissors, pliers
4. Show the NSTIC lever set-up to the class and explain the difference of one-sided lever
from a two-sided lever. Tell the class that they are going to investigate the relationship
between force and force arm, and load to load arm to attain the equilibrium (in horizontal
position).
5. Distribute worksheets to students.
Designate to each group what experiment they are going to perform. Each group should
perform only one experiment, either Experiment A or Experiment B.
6. Let the students read the specific instructions on their worksheet and assist them in
performing the experiment.
7. Reporting and sharing of results. Call one or two representatives from groups A and B to
report to the class what they have found out.


Materials

1 standbase 1 lever beam
1 stand support 1 beam axle
1 stand rod, 9.5 mm x 500 mm 1 spring balance, 5 N
1 stand rod, 0.5 mm x 250 mm 1 hooked mass , 250 g Experiment A
1 multiclamp 1 hooked mass, 500 g Experiment B


Solutions

Experiment A One sided Lever Experiment B Two-sided Lever


Position


Position

1 4.2 1 3.8
2 1.9 2 2.0
3 1.4 3 1.6
4 1.1 4 1.0

TL - 2
F
L
AMA =
F
AMA =
L
TL - 2
Set-up
Experiment A One-sided Lever








Figure 1


Set-up
Experiment B Two-sided Lever








Figure 2
Measurement (Experiment A)

Position Load L
(N)
Length of
Load arm
(m)
Product
M
1

L x La
(N x m)
Force F
(N)
Length of
Force
arm
(m)
Product M
1

F x Fa
(n X m)
1 2.5 0.05 0.14 0.6 0.20 0.12
2 2.5 0.10 0.25 1.3 0.20 0.26
3 2.5 0.15 0.38 1.8 0.20 0.36
4 2.5 0.20 0.50 2.3 0.20 0.46


Measurement (Experiment B)

Position Load L
(N)
Length of
Load arm
(m)
Product
M
1

L x La
(N x m)
Force F
(N)
Length of
Force arm
(m)
Product
M
1

F x Fa
(n X m)
1 5.0 0.05 0.25 1.3 0.200 0.26
2 5.0 0.10 0.5 2.5 .0.200 0.50
3 5.0 0.15 0.75 3.8 0.200 0.76
4 5.0 0.20 1.0 5.0 0.200 1.00

Data Analysis
2. The product of force F and force arm F
a
is equal to the
product of load L and load arm L
a
.



2. The product of force F and the force arm F
a
is equal to the
product of Load L and the load arm L
a
.


Conceptualization

1. The principle of lever is valid to one-sided lever and two-sided lever.
2. It is recommended to introduce to students the idea of Actual Mechanical Advantage
F
L
AMA = or
a
a
L
F
AMA =
3. Let the students calculate the actual mechanical advantage for the 4 positions used in the experiment using
F
L
AMA =
T
L

-

3


TL - 3

Application/Evaluation

1. The difference between one sided lever from two sided lever is that, in one-sided
lever, the fulcrum is at one end of the lever and the load L and the force F is on the same
side while in two-sided lever, the fulcrum is in the middle and the load L is on one side of
the lever and the force F is on the other side of the lever.

2. It is easier because the input force becomes greater due to its long handle

3.
?
5 . 1
2
200
=
=
=
=
F
m F
m L
N L
a
a
N F
m
m N
m F m N
F F L L
a a
600
5 . 1
400
5 . 1 2 200
= =

=
=


4.











Figure 3

5. The bicycle pedal system is made up of
2 one-sided lever moving alternately,
where the load is the pull needed to keep
the bicycle running.


Answer:







6. The handles of the shears are longer than
the blades in order to multiply the force
applied on the handles enough to cut the
metal.













7. L
a
= 0.5 m L x La = F x F
a

F
a
= 1.0 m 600 N x 0.25 m = F x 1.0 m
L = 600 N 1.5 N.m = F x 1.0 m
F = ? F = 150 N.m = 150 N
1.0m



Figure 4 Figure 6
N L
m L
m F
a
a
900
5 . 0
5 . 1
=
=
=
N
m
m N
m F m N
F F L L
a a
300
5 . 1
450
5 . 1 5 . 0 900
=

=
=


L
f
Figure 5


F
f


TL - 4
TL - 4
TL - 4