Lever systems are made up of four parts - Edexcel - GCSE Physical Education - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1
Question 8
Lever systems are made up of four parts. One of these parts is the lever.
(a) State the other three parts of a lever system.
(b) Third class lever systems work ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Lever systems are made up of four parts - Edexcel - GCSE Physical Education - Question 8 - 2018 - Paper 1
Step 1
State the other three parts of a lever system.
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Answer
The other three parts of a lever system are:
Fulcrum/Pivot: The point around which the lever rotates.
Load/Resistance: The weight or load that needs to be moved by the lever.
Effort/Force: The input force applied to lift the load.
Step 2
Explain the term mechanical disadvantage.
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Answer
Mechanical disadvantage occurs in third class lever systems due to the arrangement of the load arm and the effort arm.
Firstly, it means that these levers cannot lift heavy loads with the same amount of effort as other types of levers. This is because the load is positioned further from the fulcrum compared to the effort, requiring a larger effort to move a relatively small load.
In essence, while they allow for greater speed and distance of movement, they sacrifice the ability to lift heavier loads efficiently.