Mechanical Advantage

[MedPR]

I feel like this is such a simple topic, but I just can't get a good grasp on it. John (that's the wikipremed guy's name, right?) did a pretty thorough explanation in the video but I still don't understand. To take a page out of SaintJude's book, the answer is here in white: A

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[dsoz]

Pulley has a MA=3 because it has 3 support strings (don't count the one that pulls DOWN on the far right, only count the 3 strings on the left that are supporting the mass at the bottom.

Lever has a MA=2 because the Din/Dout ratio is 2/1

ramp with pulley has MA = 1.41 (or sqare root of 2) because of the 45 degree angle.

dsoz

 

[AFLATPEG]

Pulley has a MA=3 because it has 3 support strings (don't count the one that pulls DOWN on the far right, only count the 3 strings on the left that are supporting the mass at the bottom.

Lever has a MA=2 because the Din/Dout ratio is 2/1

ramp with pulley has MA = 1.41 (or sqare root of 2) because of the 45 degree angle.

dsoz

isnt the inclined plane MA = 1/sin(theta) ?