– Mechanical Advantage and F=ma formula

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How do things that provide mechanical advantage by being levers or acting like levers (gears) fit into the F=m•a formula? I.e. do they increase force in the formula by increasing either the acting mass of an object or the acceleration.

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3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

F = m*a applies to each individual object. Different objects can have different forces applied to them, so it’s not the right formula if you want to understand how a lever works.

If a lever provides you with a mechanical advantage then the acceleration at the point where you apply the (smaller) force is larger than the acceleration of the object you move with a larger force.

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