First, Second, and Third Class Levers

Parts of the Lever

Levers, being simple machines, have only three simple parts. The load, the effort, and the fulcrum. Let’s start with the load. The load is basically what it is you’re trying to lift. The books in the last experiment where the load. Now for the effort. That’s you. In the last experiment, you were putting the force on the lever to lift the load. You were the effort. The effort is any kind of force used to lift the load. Last for the fulcrum. It is the pivot that the lever turns on. The fulcrum, as we’ll play with a bit more later, is the key to the effectiveness of the lever.

There are three types of levers. Their names are first-class, second-class and third-class. I love it when it’s that simple. Kind of like Dr. Seuss’s Thing One and Thing Two. The only difference between the three different levers is where the effort, load and fulcrum are.

Please login or register to read the rest of this content.

Please login or register to read the rest of this content.