Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Pulley Lab

Vocabulary: block and tackle, conservation of energy, efficiency, friction, input force, load,
mechanical advantage, output force, pulley, pulley system, simple machine, work

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

A pulley is a wheel with a groove for a rope or cable. The image at left shows an
example of a pulley system, also called a block and tackle.

1. Why do you think people use pulley systems to lift heavy loads? I think
people use pulley systems to lift heavy loads because they can lift things that
people can't lift by themselves, and they are safer.

2. In what places have you seen pulleys at work? construction sites, wells,
sailboats, elevators

Gizmo Warm-up
The Pulley Lab Gizmo demonstrates why pulleys are useful for lifting
loads. To begin, check that the Gizmo has the following settings:
 The Pulley configuration is 1 fixed.
 Ideal pulleys (0.0 N) is selected.
 The Weight is 50 N (50 newtons), and the Efficiency is 100%.

To apply an input force, drag the Input force spring balance to the
right. Slowly increase the force until the 50-N load begins to rise.

1. What is the minimum force required to lift a 50-N load with one fixed pulley? The minimum
force required would be 50 N

2. Change the Pulley configuration to 1 fixed, 1 moveable. As you did before, slowly drag
the Input force balance to the right until the load begins to lift.

A. What force is required to lift a 50-N load with this pulley system? 26
newton

B. What is one advantage of using a pulley system? The minimum input

does change when more is added to the pulley, because then there would be less
force required to actually and left and pull the object.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
 Select the 1 fixed pulley configuration.
Mechanical
 Set the Weight to 60 N and Efficiency to 100%.
advantage
 You will need a calculator for this activity.

Introduction: A pulley is an example of a simple machine. Many simple machines are useful
because they allow the user to lift a heavy weight using less force than it would take to lift the
weight directly. The mechanical advantage of the machine is a measure of this benefit.

Question: What is the mechanical advantage of each pulley system?

1. Predict: How will adding more pulleys affect the input force needed to lift the load? Using
multiple pulleys decreases the amount of force necessary to move an object

2. Gather data: With the Weight set to 60 N and the Efficiency set to 100%, find the minimum
input force needed to lift the load with each system. Fill in the table below. Include units.

Pulley system Weight (N) Minimum input force (N)

1 fixed 60 N 61 N
1 fixed, 1 moveable 60 N 31N
2 fixed, 2 moveable 60 N 16N
3 fixed, 3 moveable 60 N 11N

3. Summarize: How does the minimum input change as you add more pulleys to the system?
Adding more pulleys means the minimum input force will decrease.

4. Analyze: Compare the input force to the number of pulleys in each system. Do you see a

pattern? If so, describe it: The pattern seems to be half of the previous number. The first 3

pulley systems are half of the previous system; however the last system is not half of the

previous.

5. Apply: How much force do you think would be needed to lift a 100-N load with a pulley

system composed of two fixed and two moveable pulleys? 26 N

Check your answer with the Gizmo. How much force was actually needed? 28 N

(Activity A continued on next page)

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Activity A (continued from previous page)

6. Calculate: The mechanical advantage of a pulley system is equal to the output force (Fout)
divided by the input force (Fin):
Fout
MA 
Fin

The input force and output force for each pulley system is shown in the bottom-right corner
of the Gizmo. Use the Gizmo to find the input force and output force for each pulley system.
In each case, use the same input force that you used to lift the 60-N load.

Pulley system Input force (N) Output force (N) Mechanical advantage

1 fixed 61N 61N 1.0N

1 fixed,
31N 62N 2.0N
1 moveable
2 fixed,
16N 64N 4.0N
2 moveable
3 fixed,
11N 66N 6.0N
3 moveable

7. Make a rule: How is the mechanical advantage related to the total number of pulleys in the

pulley system? In a two pulley system the MA is 2. The more compound the pulley is the

easier the load is to lift.

8. Apply: Imagine a pulley system with four fixed and four moveable pulleys.

A. What would be the mechanical advantage of this system? A fixed pulley is a load
multiplier and a moveable multiplier is a speed multiplier; 8.0n

B. Using this system, how much input force would be needed to lift a 500-N load? 125N

9. Think and discuss: So far, you’ve been working with an “ideal” pulley system. How do you
think real pulley systems are different, and how would that affect the mechanical advantage
of real pulley systems? To calculate the mechanical advantage of a pulley you simply have to
count the number of rope sections that support whatever object you are lifting (not counting
the rope that is attached to the effort). For example, in a one pulley system the MA 1. In a
two pulley system the MA 2.

Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

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  Select the 1 fixed pulley.
Work and energy  Set the Weight to 80 N and Efficiency to 100%.
 You will need a calculator for this activity.

Introduction: The law of conservation of energy states that in a closed system the total
energy is constant. In other words, energy is neither created nor destroyed.

Question: How does a pulley system demonstrate conservation of energy?

1. Observe: Lift the 80-N load with different pulley systems. Notice the length of the rope pile.
How does adding pulleys affect the distance you have to pull the rope to lift the object? It
makes the rope longer so it will be able to go all the way around the pulleys

2. Gather data: Lift the 80-N load to the top with each pulley system. In each case, record the
input force, input distance, output force, and height. Include units.

Input force Input Output force Height

Pulley system
(N) distance (m) (N) (m)
1 fixed 80N 8.75m 80 N 8.75m
1 fixed, 1 moveable 40N 16.8m 200 N 8.4m
2 fixed, 2 moveable 20N 26.8m 400 N 6.7m
3 fixed, 3 moveable 14N 25.8m 600 N 4.3m

3. Calculate: When a force is exerted over a distance, work is done on an object. Work is
measured in joules (J) and is equal to the product of force and distance: W = F • d. For each
pulley system, calculate the input work (input force • input distance) and the output work
(output force • height). Units of work are newton-meters, or joules (J).

Pulley system Input work (J) Output work (J)

1 fixed 700j 700j
1 fixed, 1 moveable 672j 1680j
2 fixed, 2 moveable 536j 2680j
3 fixed, 3 moveable 361.2j 2580j

4. Analyze: Work is a measure of energy. Look at each pair of input-output values. How do

pulley systems illustrate conservation of energy? They use less input work.

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 Get the Gizmo ready:
Extension:
 Select 1 fixed pulley, and set the Weight to 40 N.
Friction and
 Select the Standard pulleys (5 N).
efficiency
 You will need a calculator for this activity.

Introduction: So far you have studied “ideal” pulley systems. In the real world, friction reduces
the advantage of any pulley system. Efficiency is a measure of how much friction is present.

Question: How does friction affect the mechanical advantage of a pulley system?

1. Observe: Use the fixed pulley to lift the 40-N load. Vary the efficiency of the pulley. How
does the efficiency of the pulley affect how much force is needed to lift the 40-N load? 40N

2. Gather data: Use the 1 fixed pulley to lift the 40-N load at the following efficiencies. In each
case, record the input force and output force shown at bottom right.

Efficiency Load (N) Input force (N) Output force (N) Ratio (Output ÷ Input)
100% 40.0 N 100 100 1
75% 40.0 N 100 75 0.75
67% 40.0 N 100 67 0.67
50% 40.0 N 100 50 0.50

3. Calculate: Divide each output force by the input force to find the ratio. Fill in the last column.
How does the ratio of output force to input force compare to the efficiency of the pulley?
Input force was more than the output as the efficiency decreased.

4. Make a rule: Given the input force and output force of a fixed pulley, how do you calculate

efficiency? Divide output by input

5. Challenge yourself: An ideal system with one fixed and one moveable pulley has a
mechanical advantage of two. Suppose a real system with one fixed and one moveable
pulley had an efficiency of 80%. (Recall that a standard pulley has a weight of 5 newtons.)

A. Using this system, how much force will be needed to lift a 45-N load? 45N

B. Check your answer using the Gizmo. How much force was needed? 26 Newton

C. Modify your efficiency equation from #4 above to factor in mechanical advantage. 2

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