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? People use
pulley systems to lift heavy loads because it is much easier, and pulleys
can carry these heavy loads to farther distances in less time.

2. In what places have you seen pulleys at work? I have seen them outside on
flagpoles, in buildings on elevators, in theatres on theatre curtains and
in construction areas.

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? 51 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? 25 N

What is one advantage of using a pulley system? It makes heave weights a lot easier to lift.

2019
 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?

Adding more pulleys will affect the input force by requiring less force needed to lift the
load.

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

3. Summarize: How does the minimum input change as you add more pulleys to the system?

The minimum input changes by requiring a little less than half the first input force.

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

pattern? If so, describe it: Every time more pulleys were added, the input force was

almost cut in half.

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? 26 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):

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 61 N 61 N 1
1 fixed,
31 N 62 N 2
1 moveable
2 fixed,
16 N 64 N 4
2 moveable
3 fixed,
11 N 66 N 6
3 moveable

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

pulley system? It corresponds to the sum of pulleys needed.

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

A. What would be the mechanical advantage of this system? 8

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

58 N

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?

Real pulleys may have many other factors to put into consideration when thinking about
the overall efficiency of the pulley system. This would affect the mechanical advantage
because the output and input force may be affected by these outside factors which
would ultimately affect the mechanical advantage.

2019
 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:
 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?

The more pulleys, the more the distance is to pull the rope to lift the object.

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 80.00 N 8.75 m 80.00 N 8.75 m
1 fixed, 1 moveable 80.00 N 16.80 m 160.00 N 8.40 m
2 fixed, 2 moveable 80.00 N 26.80 m 320.00 N 6.70 m
3 fixed, 3 moveable 80.00 N 25.80 m 480.00 N 4.30 m

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 81 N x 8.75 m = 708.75 J 81 N x 8.75 m = 708.75 J
1 fixed, 1 moveable 41 N x 16.80 m = 688.80 J 82 N x 8.4 m = 688.80 J
2 fixed, 2 moveable 21 N x 26.80 m = 562.80 J 84 N x 6.70 m = 562.80 J
3 fixed, 3 moveable 14 N x 25.80 m = 361.20 J 84 N x 4.30 m = 361.20 J

Analyze: Work is a measure of energy. Look at each pair of input-output values. How do pulley
systems illustrate conservation of energy? Pulleys illustrate the conservation of energy
because even though adding more pulleys lessened the amount of work, it increased the
distance.

2019
 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?

_________________________________________________________________________

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
75% 40.0 N
67% 40.0 N
50% 40.0 N

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?

_________________________________________________________________________

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

efficiency? ________________________________________________________________

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? ____________

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

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

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 1. What two things did you learn about simple machines from completing
this Gizmo lab? (Please use complete sentences.)
Two things I learned about simple machines from completing this Gizmo lab
is how simple machines are all around us making our lives much easier and
how mechanical advantage is a measurement of using a simple machine to
lift a heavy object rather than lifting it directly.

2. What happens to the mechanical advantage of a pulley system as you

added pulleys?
As I added more pulleys, the mechanical advantage of the pulley system
increased.

2019