Education Technology


Mechanical Advantage of Pulleys

Activity Overview

Students explore a single-fixed-pulley system by varying the load and measure the force necessary to lift the load.

Key Steps

  • Image

    Students investigate the mechanical advantages of various pulley systems. First, they use a force sensor to collect data on the force needed to lift various loads using a single, fixed pulley.

  • Image

    Next, students make a plot of resistance force vs. effort force for the single, fixed pulley. They use linear regression to confirm that the mechanical advantage of the system is one.

  • Image

    Finally, students use simulations of different pulley systems to learn about their mechanical advantages. They vary the resistance force and the effort force and examine the results. They calculate the mechanical advantage for the different systems using these data.