LEVER:

“A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam or rigid

rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum.”

 A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on

itself.
 On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, load and effort,
the lever is divided into three types.
 Also a leverage is a mechanical advantage gained in a
mechanical system.
 It is one of the six simple machines identified by
Renaissance scientists.
 A lever amplifies an input force to provide a greater
output force, which is said to provide leverage.
 The ratio of the output force to the input force is the
mechanical advantage of the lever.
 As such, the lever is a mechanical advantage device,
trading off force against movement.
COMPONENTS:
Levers have four very important parts —
1. The bar or beam,
2. The fulcrum (the pivot or the turning point),
3. Effort (or force) and
4. The load.

 The beam is simply a long plank. It may be wood, metal or

any durable material. The beam rests on a fulcrum (a
point on the bar creating a pivot).
 When you push down one end of a lever, you apply a force
(input) to it. The lever pivots on the fulcrum, and
produces an output (lift a load) by exerting an output
force on the load.
 A lever makes work easier by both increasing your input
force and changing the direction of your input force.
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE:
A lever provides mechanical advantage.
“Mechanical advantage refers to how much a simple
machine multiplies an applied force.”
 The location of the effort, load, and fulcrum will
determine the type of lever and the amount of
mechanical advantage the machine has.
 The farther the effort is away from the fulcrum, the
easier it is to move the load.
Mechanical advantage can be calculated using this formula:

 If the distance from the effort to the fulcrum is

greater than the distance from the load to the fulcrum,
then the lever has a mechanical advantage.
 In other words, the ratio of these two distances is
greater than one.
 This means that a long distance from the effort to the
fulcrum and a short distance from the load to the
fulcrum will allow a small effort to move a large load.
LAW OF LEVER:
 The cross product of force and distance is torque.
 The cross product is the mathematical process between
two vectors that results in a vector perpendicular to
both of the initial vectors.
 The law of the lever is also known as the law of moments
and equates clockwise torques and counterclockwise
torques.
 The equation here shows the law of levers:

i. F1 is force 1.
ii. d1 is the distance from the fulcrum force 1 is applied.
iii. F2 is force 2.
iv. d2 is the distance from the fulcrum force 2 is applied
 Imagine trying to open a paint can's lid with a
screwdriver, but not applying the force perpendicularly
to the screwdriver.
 If you applied the force at 1° to the screwdriver, it
would take a lot of force to open the lid.
 Applying the force at 90° to the screwdriver would be
the most effective at prying open the lid.
 This means we need a way to adjust the amount of
torque based on the angle at which the force is applied
to the lever.
 The sine trigonometric function has a maximum value at
90° and a minimum value at 0°.
 We can rewrite the cross product of force and
distance from the lever arm including the sine function.
 This is how the cross product is evaluated.
  The perpendicular force is most effective at rotating
the lever.
 The equation for the magnitude of torques in the law of
levers:

i. θ1 is the angle between F1 and the lever arm.

ii. θ2 is the angle between F2 and the lever arm.

We'll deal with situations where the angle between the

force and the lever arm is 90° so we can remove the sine
functions because the sin of 90° is 1.
This gives us this next equation:

CLASSES OF LEVER:

FIRST CLASS LEVER:

In a first class lever, the fulcrum is located between the

load and the effort.

 If the fulcrum is closer to the load, then less effort is

needed to move the load a shorter distance.
 If the fulcrum is closer to the effort, then more
effort is needed to move the load a greater distance.
 First class levers are very useful for lifting large loads
 with little effort.
 Mechanical advantage may be greater than, less than,
or equal to 1.
 A teeter-totter, a car jack, and a crowbar are all
examples of first class levers.

SECOND CLASS LEVER:

In a second class lever, the load is located between the
effort and the fulcrum.
  If the load is closer to the fulcrum than the effort,
then less effort will be required to move the load.
 If the load is closer to the effort than the fulcrum,
then more effort will be required to move the load.
 The load arm is smaller than the effort arm, and the
mechanical advantage is always greater than one.
 It is also called force multiplier lever.
 A wheelbarrow, a bottle opener, and an oar are
examples of second class levers.

THIRD CLASS LEVER:

In a third class lever, the effort is located between the

load and the fulcrum.
 If the fulcrum is closer to the load, then less effort is
needed to move the load.
 If the fulcrum is closer to the effort, then the load
will move a greater distance.
 These levers are useful for making precise movements.
 The effort arm is smaller than the load arm.
 Mechanical advantage is always less than 1. It is also
called speed multiplier lever.
 A pair of tweezers, swinging a baseball bat or using
your arm to lift something are examples of third class
levers.
COMPOUND LEVER:
 A compound lever comprises several levers acting in
series:
 The resistance from one lever in a system of levers acts
as effort for the next, and thus the applied force is
transferred from one lever to the next.
 Examples of compound levers include scales, nail clippers
and piano keys.

LEVERS IN HUMAN BODY:

 When person is moving his leg - arms - any part of his

body, he depends on his Skelton system (muscle forces)
by contraction or extension muscles.
 In fact the bone in moving work as a lever
  Levers cannot be changed, but they can be utilized more
efficiently.

FIRST CLASS OF LEVER IN HUMAN BODY:

 The joint between the skull and the atlas vertebrae of
the spine the spine is the fulcrum across which muscles
lift the head.
  The joint between the hummers and radius ulna.

SECOND CLASS OF LEVER IN HUMAN BODY:

 The Achilles tendon, pushing or pulling across the heel of

the foot.
THIRD CLASS OF LEVER IN HUMAN BODY:
 The elbow joint: when lifting a book, the elbow joint is
the fulcrum across which the biceps muscle performs the
work.
BENEFITS FROM LEVER:
 Increase power
 Increase distance
 Increase speed
 Transfer power from one place to another
 Precision in work safety
 Avoid risks