If there are two feet of a lever on one side of the fulcrum and ten feet of lever on the other side, what is the mechanical advantage?

• A. 10:1
• B. 20:1
• C. 5:1
• D. 50:1

Answer: (C)

The lever’s advantage comes from the ratio of the arms around the fulcrum. The mechanical advantage equals the length of the side where you apply the effort divided by the length of the side where the load sits. If you push on the 10-foot side and the load is on the 2-foot side, you get a 10/2 = 5, so the lever provides a 5:1 advantage. In torque terms, F_effort × 10 = F_load × 2, which rearranges to F_load / F_effort = 5. Therefore, the mechanical advantage is 5:1. If you instead applied effort on the short side, the advantage would be less than 1, which is not favorable.