Moments and levers

Levers
• A lever is a simple device/machine which
makes work easier.

• When a force is applied (effort) levers turn

about a pivot when doing work to move the
resisting force (load).

• This is referred to as
the turning effect.
 Levers
• Some examples of levers are:
Scissors, bottle openers, crowbars, pliers, see-
saws, tweezers, wheel barrows, spanners, a
hammer removing a nail etc…

• Levers can be classified into 3 classes:

a. 1st class levers
b. 2nd class levers
c. 3rd class levers
 Levers
• 1st class levers are machines where the fulcrum or pivot is nearer to
the load than the effort. (crowbar lifting a load)

• 2nd class levers are machines where the load and effort force are
shared out by the fulcrum so the force needed to lift the object is less
than the load force. 2nd class levers act as force multipliers. (wheel
barrows)

• 3rd class levers are machines where the fulcrum is nearer the effort
than the load. In 3rd class levers the effort is greater than the load so
these levers are used where you want to pick up delicate or small
objects. (tweezers)
 Codes
for rem
1st LFE
2nd FLE
3rd FEL

L – Load E – Effort F – Fulcrum

 The Turning Effect of a Force
• When a force acts on an object it may cause a
turning effect, known as the moment of the
force.

• The turning effect

depends on:
a. the SIZE of the force applied
b. the DISTANCE of the force
from the pivot/fulcrum or point of
rotation.
 Calculating Moments
• Turning moment (Nm) = Force (N) × Distance (m)

• The unit of moment of a force is the newton

metre (Nm).

It is NOT equivalent to a joule because the

distance measured is perpendicular to the force
and not in the direction of the force.
 Calculating Moments
• Why is the handle on
a door at the outside
edge?

• Why doesn’t it make

sense to put the door
handle in the centre
of the door?
 Calculating Moments

Scenario A Scenario B
Fulcrum or Pivot
3m

1.5 m 1.5 m
Fulcrum or Pivot
F=5N
F=5N

What is the moment of force on the gate in scenario A? What is the moment of force on the gate in scenario B?
 Calculating Moments
Clockwise and Anti-Clockwise

When describing the action of moments, the terms clockwise and anticlockwise are used to
describe the direction of action.

F1 is trying to turn the ruler anticlockwise.

F2 is trying to turn the ruler clockwise.

When the ruler is balanced or at equilibrium the results should show that the anticlockwise
moment F1 × d1 equals the clockwise moment F2 × d2.
 Calculating Moments
Moments and Equilibrium
• When an object is in equilibrium it is not
accelerating or rotating. The two equilibrium
conditions are:

a. There is NO resultant force acting on the object.

b. The clockwise moment is equal to the

anticlockwise moment. This is known as the
principle of moments.
• Try this yourself:
A uniform plank of 10 m long is balanced on a pivot 2 m from one end by applying a force of 30 N at
the end. What is the weight of the plank?

2m 8m

30 N

In the figures below the distance AC = CB. Calculate in each case the force P which will keep the
system stationary.

Scenario A Scenario B
P P

A C B A C B

10 N
10 N 10 N
 Calculating Moments
Clockwise and Anti-Clockwise
Here’s a worked example:
The see-saw below balances when Joanna of weight
320 N is at A, Tom of weight 540 N is at B and Michael of
weight W is at C. Find W.

2m 1m 3m
A B O C

fulcrum or pivot
320 N 540 N W

Taking moments about the fulcrum O:

anticlockwise moment = (320 N X 3 m) + (540 N X 1 m) = 1500 Nm

clockwise moment = (W X 3) Nm = 3W Nm

Clockwise moments = Anticlockwise moments

3W = 1500 Nm
W = 500 N
Exercises
• As an example consider two decorators of weights 500 N and 700 N standing at A and B on a plank resting on two trestles. The
whole weight of the plank, 400 N, may be taken to act vertically downwards at its centre, O.

If P and Q are the upwards forces exerted by the trestles on the plank, called reactions, then we have the sum of the forces in one
direction equals the sum of the forces in the opposite direction:

P + Q = (500 + 400 + 700) N = 1600 N

Moments can be taken about any point, but taking them about C eliminates the moment due to Q:

clockwise moment = P X 4 m

anticlockwise moment = ( (700 X 1) + (400 X 2) + (500 X 5) ) = 4000 Nm

Since the plank is in equilibrium we have from (2) on the previous page where the law of moments must apply:

4 P m = 4000 Nm
p = 1000 N

From the first equation we can now substitute where:

P = 1000 Nm and P + Q = 1600 N

then Q = 1600 N - 1000 N = 600 N

Centres of gravity
 Centre of Gravity
• A body behaves as if its whole weight were concentrated at one
point, called its centre of gravity (c.g.), even though the earth attracts
every part of it.

• The c.g. of a ruler is at its centre, and when supported there it

balances. If it is supported at any other point it topples because the
moment of its weight W about the point of support is not zero.
 Centre of Gravity
• Your centre of gravity is near the centre
of your body and the vertical line from
it to the floor must be within the area
enclosed by your feet or you will fall over.

• A tight-rope walker has to keep their

c.g. exactly above the rope.

Why does a tight-rope walker

have to do this?

What do some tight-rope walkers

use in order to keep their balance?
 Centre of Gravity
Of an Irregular Shape Object
• The c.g. of a regular shaped object or body of the same density all over is at its centre.
In other cases it can be found by experiment.

• A plumb line can be used to find the

centre of gravity of an irregularly shaped object.
One can do this by punching a hole at any point
about the edge of the object and placing
it to hang upon a nail.

From there a plumb line is to be fitted onto the

nail and allowed to hang. A line is then drawn
along the plumb line.

The same procedure is to be repeated when

another hole is punched into the same irregularly
shaped object’s edge but at a different place.

Eventually, where all lines intersect is exactly were

that object’s centre of gravity is.
 Centre of Gravity
• The position of the centre of gravity of a body affects whether or not it topples over easily.
This is important in the design of such things as tall vehicles which tend to overturn when
rounding a corner, race cars, reading lamps and even tea-cups.

Why do you think a body topples?

The stability of a body is

therefore increased by:

a. Lowering its centre of gravity

b. Increasing the area of its base

Racing cars have a low centre of

gravity and a wide wheel base.
 Centre of Gravity
Types of Equilibrium
• Three terms are used in connection with stability:

1. A body is in stable equilibrium if when

slightly displaced and then released it returns
to its previous position. Its centre of gravity
rises when it is displaced.

2. A body is in unstable equilibrium if it

moves farther away from its previous
position when slightly displaced. Its centre
of gravity falls when it is displaced slightly.

3. A body is in neutral equilibrium if it stays

in its new position when displaced. Its centre
of gravity does not rise or fall.
 Centre of Gravity
Types of Equilibrium
• The diagram below demonstrates the 3 types of equilibriums. Think of the red
circle as a ball in each depiction. In the stable picture think of the blue curve as a
bowl. In the unstable picture think of the blue curve as the same bowl but
upturned. In the neutral picture think of the blue line as the floor.
• Questions:
1. The figure below shows three different positions of a cone. State in which position it is in:
a. stable equilibrium
b. unstable equilibrium
c. neutral equilibrium

1 2 3

2. The weight of the uniform bar in the figure below is 10 N. Does it balance, tip to the right or tip to
the left? (remember weight is at the centre of a body)

10 cm 100 cm
40 cm 50 cm

3N
Work, energy, power
Energy and Energy Transformations
• Energy is defined as the capacity to do work.

• The unit of energy is the Joule, J. Sometimes kilojoule, kJ

is used as well.

• All events occur due to a transfer or transformation of

energy.

• Energy is sometimes referred to as being in different

forms. A change in form of energy is referred to as a
transformation.
 Kinetic & Potential Energy
• Kinetic energy, Ek = ½ mv2 or Ek = (mv2) ÷ 2
where m: mass (kg), v: velocity (m/s)

• Potential energy, Ep = mgh

where m: mass (kg), g:
gravity (9.86 – 10 m/s2) and h: height (m)

• E p = Ek OR E k = Ep
 Kinetic & Potential Energy
• Try the following questions:

a. Calculate the speeds a 1.0 kg mass and then a

2.0 kg coconut will reach when falling to the ground
from 25 m. What do you notice?
 Kinetic & Potential Energy
• Try the following questions:
b. An Airbus A380 jet aircraft has a fully loaded mass of
550 000 kg. It can travel at a height of 12 km with a speed
of 250 m/s.

(i) How much kinetic energy does it have?

(ii) How much gravitational potential energy does it have?

 Energy Transformations

• Energy can be transferred from one form to another which

makes it so useful.

• Microphones have been invented

to achieve this. They change sound
energy into electrical energy.

A loudspeaker does the reverse.

Belts, chains or gears are used to transfer energy between

moving parts.
 Examples of Energy Inter-conversions

• A battery operated radio

chemical  electrical  sound

• In a computer
electrical  sound  light  heat
 Examples of Energy Inter-conversions

• nuclear  heat (steam)  kinetic (energy from

turbines in generator)  electrical
 Energy Inter-conversions
• Solar energy is produced on the Sun by
nuclear reactions.

They are fusion reactions in which small atoms

join to make larger atoms.
 Energy Inter-conversions
• In nuclear power stations large atoms are split
into smaller atoms. At the end of the reaction
the mass of the particles are slightly less than
before due to heat loss.
 Conservation of Energy

• In all energy changes the principle or law of

conservation of energy is found to be true. It
is stated as follows:

Energy cannot be created or destroyed but it

can be transferred from one form into
another.
 Conservation of Energy

• If it seems in a transfer that some energy has disappeared, the ‘lost’

energy is often converted into thermal energy.

When a brick falls its p.e. becomes k.e..

As it hits the ground, its temperature and that

of the ground rises and thermal energy (and a
little sound energy) is produced.

In practice, some thermal energy is produced in all energy

transformations.
 Sources of Energy
• There are many sources of energy as it is a necessary ‘raw material’ in the modern world.

• From the list above what are non-renewable sources of energy and what are renewable sources of
energy?

• Nuclear energy has the ability to produce energy at much cheaper prices than fuel or coal. However,
there are some problems associated with it. What are the problems?
Work
 Work
• Work is done when a force
moves.

A boat pulling a
water skier does work as
does a crane when it lifts a
load.

However, NO work is
done in the scientific sense
by someone holding a heavy
pile of books; an upwards
force is exerted but no
motion results.
 Work
• If a building worker carries ten bricks up to the first
floor of a building he does more work than if he
carries only one brick. Why is this so?

• The amount of work done depends on the size of

the force applied and the distance it moves.

:. work = force x distance moved in direction of force

 Work
• The unit of work is the joule (J) and is the work
done when a force of 1 newton (N) moves through
1 metre (m).

:. joules = newtons x metres

where 1 J = 1 Nm = 1 kg m2 / s2

• If you lift a mass of 3 kg vertically through 2 m how

much work has been done?
 Power
• The more powerful a car is the faster it can climb a hill, that is
the faster it does work.

• The power of a device is the work it does per second, that is

the rate at which it does work. This is the same as the rate at
which it transfers energy from one form to another.

P = E/t

Power = work done / time taken (eq. 1)

= energy transfer / time taken (eq. 2)
= (mass*gravity*height)/time (eq. 3)
 Power
• The unit of power is the watt (W) and is a rate of
working of 1 joule per second, that is 1 W = 1 J/s.
Larger units are the kilowatt (kW) and the megawatt
(MW) where:

1 kW = 1000 W = 103 W
and
1 MW = 1 000 000 W = 106 W

Work, energy, power 43

 Efficiency
• During energy transfer some energy is wasted and lost
to the environment. This wasted energy depends on
the specific device but there is always some heat lost.

The efficiency of a transfer is a measure of how much

energy is transferred usefully.

Efficiency = output value ÷ input value × 100%

Therefore, no machine is ever 100% efficient.

 Power
• If a machine does 500 J of work in 10 s its
power is:
500 J / 10 s = 50 J/s = 50 Js-1 = 50 W

where 1 J/s = 1 W

A small car develops a maximum power of

about 25 kW or 25, 000 W.
 Power
• Try the following questions:
A 500 kg load is lifted through a vertical height of 10 m in
25 s by a crane.
Calculate the power of the crane.

• How long will it take an electric motor of power output 25

kW to lift a mass of 1000 kg through 20 m?

Before you attempt the question write out everything that you have and then
proceed.
 Horsepower
• Get someone with a stop watch to find the time, t, you take to run up
a flight of stairs, the longer the better.

Find your weight mg (in newtons). Calculate the total vertical height
h (in meters) you have climbed by measuring the height of one stair
and counting the number of stairs.

The work you do (in joules) in lifting your weight to the top of the
stairs is (your weight in, N) x (vertical height of stairs, m). Calculate
your power P (in watts) from the equation:

P = mgh/ t

About 0.5 kW is good. (1 horse power = 0.75 kW.)

47
 Friction
• Friction is the force that opposes one surface
moving, or trying to move, over another. It
can be a help or a hindrance.

• We could not walk if friction did not exist

between the soles of our shoes and the
ground. Why?
 Friction
• However, engineers try to reduce friction to a
minimum in the moving parts of machinery by
using lubricating oils and ball bearings.

• When work is done against friction, the

temperature of the bodies in contact rise (as
you can test by rubbing your hands together)
and thermal energy is produced.
• Try it yourself questions:

1. How much work is done when a mass of 3 kg is

lifted vertically through 6 m?
• Try it yourself questions:

2. In loading a lorry, a man lifts boxes each of

weight 100 N through a height of 0.50 m.
a. How much work does he do in lifting one box?
b. If he lifts six boxes per minute, at what power is
he working?
• Try it yourself questions:

3. An escalator carries 60 people of average mass

70 kg to a height of 5 m in one minute. Find the
power needed to do this.
Machines

Machines 53
 Machines
• A machine is any device which
enables a force (the effort) acting
at one point to overcome another
force (the load) acting at some
other point.
 Levers
• A lever is a simple machine, as
are pulleys, gears, wedges, screws
and inclined planes.

• Such simple machines are used to

build more complicated machines
such as a crane as seen in the
picture on the right.
 Levers
Force Multipliers & Distance Multipliers

• Levers can be force multipliers or distance

multipliers.

• With a force multiplier the effort applied is

farther from the fulcrum than the load.

Examples of force multipliers are crowbars

and wheelbarrows.
 Levers
Force Multipliers & Distance Multipliers

• With a distance multiplier the effort applied is

nearer the fulcrum than the load and so has
to be greater but the load moves farther than
the effort.

Examples of distance multipliers are biceps

lifting something and a pair of tweezers
 Levers
Efficiency of a Machine

• Machines make work easier but they do not reduce the

amount of work that has to be done for a particular job.

• Machines are NOT perfect because they are not frictionless

and the moving parts are not weightless.

• With machines some work has to be done in overcoming

friction and moving parts of the machine itself. What does
this mean?
 Levers
Efficiency of a Machine

• Efficiency, η , pronounced ‘eta’, is defined as

follows:

efficiency = (work done on load/work done by effort) × 100

ALSO

efficiency = (energy output/energy input) × 100

• Efficiency is usually expressed as a percentage

and is always less than 100%.
 Levers
Types of Pulleys

• There are 3 types of pulleys:

a. Single fixed pulley

b. Single moving pulley
c. Block and tackle
 Levers
Single Fixed Pulley

• Single fixed pulley:

A single fixed pulley enables us to
lift a load, L, more conveniently by
applying a downwards effort, E.

The effort, E, needs only to be slightly E

greater than L if friction in the pulley
bearings is negligible.
 Levers
Single Moving Pulley

Single moving pulley:

If the effort applied to the free end

of the rope is E the total upward
force on the pulley is 2E since two
parts of the rope support it.

A load of L = 2E can therefore be raised

if the pully and rope are frictionless
and weightless. The force
multiplication is 2.

To raise the load by 1 m requires each side

of the rope to shorten by 1 m. The free
end has therefore to take up 2 m of slack.
 Levers
Block and Tackle
• Block and tackle:

This type of pulley system is used

in cranes and lifts.

It consists of two blocks each with

one or more pulleys.

The total upward force on the lower

block is 4E or four times the effort
since it is supported by four parts
of the rope and a load of L = 4E
can be raised.

The force multiplication is = 4 if

the pulleys are frictionless and
weightless. However, E has to move
four times as far as L does.
 Questions
• A load of 500 N is raised 0.2 m by a machine in
which an effort of 150 N moves 1 m. What is
a. The work done on the load,
b. The work done by the effort,
c. The efficiency?
 Questions
• An effort of 250 N raises a load of 1000 N
through 5 m in a pulley system. If the effort
moves 30 m, what is
a. The work done in raising the load,
b. The work done by the effort,
c. The efficiency?
 Questions
• A load of 40 N is raised 0.5 m by a pulley system
when the effort of 10 N moves 2.5 m. What is the
efficiency? (Remember that efficiency is usually a
percentage)
 Questions
• Is a bicycle a ‘distance – multiplier’ or a ‘force-
multiplier’? Explain your answer.