Mechanical Advantage (MA)

Mechanical advantage refers to the increase in force or power that a machine can provide to make a task easier to perform, accomplished by changing the direction, magnitude, or distance of the force applied to an object.

Pulley System

A pulley system is a mechanical device that consists of one or more pulleys connected by a rope or cable. Increasing the number of pulleys in the system increases the mechanical advantage (MA). A pulley system provides a mechanical advantage by distributing the load over multiple ropes, reducing the effort required to lift heavy objects.

Effort

Effort in a pulley is the force applied to the rope or chain to lift the load. The mechanical advantage of a pulley system is that it can reduce the amount of effort needed to lift a load.

Load

Load in a pulley is the object being lifted or moved by the machine. It is the weight that needs to be lifted, moved, or lowered. The load can be reduced by using a pulley system with a mechanical advantage.