FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 1
Practical 7 – Mechanical Advantage
Name : Natasha Anne Binti Mohammed Noor Azam
Student ID : 0326416
Group Members : 1. Natasha Anne Binti Mohammed Noor Azam
2. Shoban Raja A/L Sivaji Raja
3. Saniika A/P Renganadan
4. Mong Jia Ai
Date of Experiment: 27th April 2016
Report due date: 11th May 2016
Foundation of Science Report submission date: 11th May 2016
Checked by:
School of Biosciences Item/marks
Format/10
Taylor’s University Abstract and Introduction/10
Figures and Diagrams/15
Malaysia Materials and Method/10
Results Discussions/45
References/10
Total
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 2
Contents
Abstract..................................................................................................................................................3
1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
2.0 Experimental Design........................................................................................................................4
2.1 Materials...........................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Methods............................................................................................................................................5
2.3 Procedure..........................................................................................................................................5
3.0 Results and Discussion.....................................................................................................................6
4.0 Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................................................................8
References..............................................................................................................................................8
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 3
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this experiment was to examine the concept of mechanical advantage. It was found
that actual mechanical advantage of a real machine is lesser than ideal mechanical advantage.
Besides, it is also known that it is better to have mechanical advantage that is greater than 1 to
minimise the effort thus saving time and energy.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Mechanical advantage is defined as the measure of amplification achieved by using a tool,
mechanical device or machine system. For instance, when people jack up cars to change a flat tyre,
when workers use a forklift to lift a heavy load at a push of a lever or even when doing something as
simple as changing gears on a bicycle, the power of mechanical advantage was observed.
Mechanical advantage, defined mathematically, would be the total amount of force output over the
total amount of force input or more commonly understood as a ratio of load to effort.
Input Force Load w 1
Mechanical Advantage= = = = …[1]
Output Force Effort wsinθ sinθ
An inclined plane is any plane positioned at an angle with respect to horizontal plane. Geometrically,
it is a right-angled triangle, in which hypotenuse is the inclined plane, base is the horizontal plane
and perpendicular is the vertical height. For experimental purposes, the inclined plane consists of two
planes parallel plates hinged together and can be rotated about horizontal axis as the horizontal and
inclined planes. The inclined plate was smoothened to minimize the effects of friction and was
provided with a pulley system for motion experiments. The horizontal plate was slotted at one side to
take a protractor attached at the other end to the inclined plate to measure the angle of inclination of
inclined plate.
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 4
2.0 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Fig. 7.1 Experimental set up
2.1 MATERIALS
Incline plane apparatus
Roller and pan
Weight cells
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 5
2.2 METHODS
The mass of the flat cylindrical load was measured. The experiment was set up as shown in Fig. 4.1.
The rubber cork was tied with one end of the thread firmly. 15 cm of thread was measured from the
cylindrical load and marked with a marker. The cylindrical load was swirled slowly and gradually
accelerated in a circular motion while the circular motion was maintained as close to the horizontal
plane as possible. Once the circular motion was steady, the time required to perform 10 revolutions
was recorded. The measurements were performed for another 2 times and take the average reading.
The experiment was repeated with thread lengths of 30 cm and 45 cm. The data was tabulated and
analysed in tables as shown in Table 4.1 and Table 4.2.
2.3 PROCEDURE
1. The mass of the load, ml (the roller) was measured.
2. The mass of the weight pan (mp) was measured.
3. The experiment was set up as shown in Fig. 7.1.
4. The angle of the inclined plane was adjusted to 20 degrees.
5. More weights were added to the weight pan until the roller was in equilibrium (does not
move). The amount of weights at that point was recorded.
6. More weights were added until the roller started to move up the incline plane. The amount of
weights at this point was recorded.
7. the experiment was repeated with the inclination angles of 23°, 26°, 29°, 32° and 35°.
8. The data was tabulated in the table such as the one shown in Table 7.1.
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 6
3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 7.1 Tabulation of Mechanical Advantage
Mass of Mass of Theoretical
Angle of weights when weights Effort, E (mwr MA
Inclination, θ stationary, when rising, + mp)
mws mwr
20 24 43 54.87 2.72 2.92
23 28 56 67.87 2.20 2.56
26 37 77 88.87 1.68 2.28
29 42 89 100.87 1.48 2.06
32 45 100 111.87 1.33 1.89
35 53 110 121.87 1.22 1.74
Mass of the load, ml = 149.12 g
Mass of the weight pan, mp = 11.87 g
DISCUSSION
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 7
1. What are the factors that causes the actual mechanical advantage to deviate from the ideal
mechanical advantage?
From the data tabulated above, it is clear that the actual mechanical advantage of a real
machine is lesser than ideal mechanical advantage. This is due to the effect of dampening
forces like friction. This is proven because when deriving the formula for mechanical
advantage in an ideal case, friction is not taken accounted for. On the other hand, the case is
different in real situation because of the presence of friction and cases where the moving
parts are not perfectly elastic these reduce the mechanical advantage.
2. What are the applications of mechanical advantage in engineering processes and how is it
important?
Some of the applications of mechanical advantage are ramps like what the Egyptians applied
to build the pyramids, stone edifices, roads, aqueducts, and military assault of fortified
positions. The inclined plane is used to reduce the force necessary to overcome the force of
gravity when elevating or lowering a heavy object. The ramp makes it easier to move a
physical body vertically by extending the distance travelled horizontally to achieve the
desired elevation change. Work is the product of force multiplied by distance. This means
that if one increases the distance, a much smaller quantity of force is needed to achieve the
same amount of work. The inclined plane better because it requires less effort.
3. Is having a mechanical advantage greater than 1 or lesser than 1 better? Give examples to
justify your answer.
When the mechanical advantage is greater than 1, the input force is multiplied to create a
larger output force. That means you only have to push or pull softly for the object to travel
proportionately farther. If the mechanical advantage that is less than 1, the input force is
divided to create a smaller output force. That means you have to push or pull hard for the
object to travel. In conclusion, it is better to have mechanical advantage that is greater than 1
to minimise the effort thus saving time and energy.
4.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The actual mechanical advantage defines the decrease or increase in force because it takes into
account the force needed to overcome friction. The actual mechanical advantage can be calculated
FIS-School of Biosciences
Taylor’s University 8
with the equation mass of load divided by effort…[1]. On the other hand, the ideal mechanical
advantage defines the decrease or increase in force there would be without friction as a variable. It is
always greater than the actual mechanical advantage because all machines must overcome friction.
The ideal mechanical advantage can be calculated with the equation one divided by sinθ...[1]. In
conclusion, it is better to have mechanical advantage that is greater than 1 to minimise the effort thus
saving time and energy.
Possible error that could occur during the experiment was if human error such as when setting the
inclined plane to a certain angle, there was parallax error. Furthermore, the weight cells might not be
placed evenly which could have caused uneven pulling.
Possible improvement that could be made is by always checking the angle of the inclined plane more
frequently to make sure there is no error. Moreover, ensure that the weight cells are evenly
distributed on the weight pan. Finally, repeat the experiment for each of the angle for 3 times to
ensure accurate reading.
REFERENCES
[1] R. Bansal and S. Bansal, Engineering mechanics. New Dehli: Laxmi Publications, 2003.
[2] C. Glegg and P. Williams, Mechanical advantage and efficiency. Scarborough, Ont.: Nelson
Thomson Learning, 1999.
