Investigating Inclined planes
How do inclined planes work? How do you calculate mechanical advantage for an inclined plane? In today's lab, you will be investigating how different angles of an inclined plane affect the easiness to pull up an object. But first, you need to be familiar with the anatomy of an inclined plane before we begin.
The first big difference between a lever and an inclined plane is that there is no fulcrum. Another difference is that instead of arms of a lever, you have two different planes (the inclined plane and the rise). The inclined plane is similar to the "EFFORT ARM" and the rise is similar to the "RESISTANT ARM".
The weight of the object is the output force - to find this out, lift the object straight up with the force meter.
The amount of force required for you to push the object up the ramp is the input force. This is the force that "I" put in.
The first big difference between a lever and an inclined plane is that there is no fulcrum. Another difference is that instead of arms of a lever, you have two different planes (the inclined plane and the rise). The inclined plane is similar to the "EFFORT ARM" and the rise is similar to the "RESISTANT ARM".
The weight of the object is the output force - to find this out, lift the object straight up with the force meter.
The amount of force required for you to push the object up the ramp is the input force. This is the force that "I" put in.
Question
Today's question is "How does the angle of the inclined plane affect the ability to pull up the object (input force)?
Part 1: Data
For part 1, students measured the lengths of the inclined plan and compared them to the height.
Calculate the Ideal Mechanical Advantage by comparing the length of the incline plane to the height of the plane.
Calculate the Ideal Mechanical Advantage by comparing the length of the incline plane to the height of the plane.
Part 2: Data
For Part 2: students measured the weight (Output Force) using a force meter, then compared them to the force required to move the object using the inclined plane (Input Force).
Calculate the mechanical advantage by calculating the ratio between the output and input force.
Calculate the mechanical advantage by calculating the ratio between the output and input force.
Part 3: Data
For Part 3: students observed how it felt to move the block up different angled ramps. Notice how the steeper the ramp - the harder it feels.