FCTC Test Pulleys, Gears, and Levers Questions and Answers 4

Question 1

A movable pulley is attached to a 200 lb load, and a fixed pulley redirects the rope. How much effort is required to lift the load (ignore friction)?

Accepted Answer

100 lbs

Answer

A movable pulley provides a mechanical advantage of 2, so the required effort is 200 ÷ 2 = 100 lbs.

Question 2

A large driving gear has 48 teeth and turns a small gear with 12 teeth. How would you describe the output of the small gear compared to the input?

Accepted Answer

Higher speed, less torque

Answer

When a large gear drives a smaller gear, the smaller gear spins faster but produces less torque.

Question 3

A lever's mechanical advantage is calculated as:

Accepted Answer

Effort arm length ÷ Load arm length

Answer

Mechanical advantage of a lever = Effort arm length ÷ Load arm length, indicating how much force is multiplied.

Question 4

In a block-and-tackle system with 3 movable pulleys and 3 fixed pulleys, what is the maximum mechanical advantage possible?

Accepted Answer

6

Answer

With 3 movable pulleys the mechanical advantage equals the number of rope segments supporting the load, which is 6.

Question 5

Three gears are arranged in a line: A drives B, and B drives C. Gears A and C will rotate in which direction relative to each other?

Accepted Answer

The same direction

Answer

With three gears in a series (A→B→C), an odd number of gear meshes means the first and last gear rotate in the same direction.

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