- Students will predict and describe the effect of balanced forces on an object.
- Students will measure or calculate the net force on an object.
- Students will describe the relationship between torque, force, and lever arm.
- effort arm
- first-class lever
- resistance arm
- second-class lever
- static equilibrium
- third-class lever
About the Lesson
In this activity, students explore the conditions necessary to produce static equilibrium using first-, second-, and third-class levers.
As a result, students will:
- Change the length of the effort arm for each lever and measure the force necessary to achieve static equilibrium.
- Use these data to determine the relationships between torque, force, and effort arm for the different levers.