Mechanical Advantage, Energy, Force, and Work Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering key physics formulas and definitions for force, work, mechanical advantage, and efficiency.

Actual Mechanical Advantage (AMA)

Output force divided by input force ($AMA = \frac{F_o}{F_i}$), representing the force ratio. For example, if $F_o = 0.98\,\text{Newtons}$ and $F_i = 0.60\,\text{Newtons}$, $AMA \approx 1.63$.

Efficiency

A measure telling how much input energy became useful output energy, calculated as output work divided by input work times $100$ ($\text{Efficiency} = \frac{W_o}{W_i} \times 100$). For example, if $W_o = 0.0441\,\text{Joules}$ and $W_i = 0.060\,\text{Joules}$, efficiency is $73.5\%$, with missing energy lost mainly through friction.

Gravitational Potential Energy (GPE)

The energy gained when lifting a load, calculated as $GPE = mgh$, where $m$ is mass in kilograms, $g = 9.8\,\text{Newtons per kilogram}$, and $h$ is height in meters. For example, lifting $100\,\text{grams}$ ($0.100\,\text{kilograms}$) to a height of $4.5\,\text{centimeters}$ ($0.045\,\text{meters}$) results in $GPE = 0.0441\,\text{Joules}$.

Ideal Mechanical Advantage (IMA)

Input distance divided by output distance ($IMA = \frac{d_i}{d_o}$), representing the distance ratio. For a single movable pulley with an input distance of $10\,\text{centimeters}$ and an output distance of $5\,\text{centimeters}$, $IMA = 2$.

Force

The weight or force of a mass, calculated as mass times gravity ($F = mg$), where $F$ is force in Newtons, $m$ is mass in kilograms, and $g = 9.8\,\text{Newtons per kilogram}$. For example, $100\,\text{grams}$ ($0.100\,\text{kilograms}$) yields $F = 0.98\,\text{Newtons}$.

Work

The product of force times distance ($W = Fd$), measured in Joules.

Input Work ($W_i$)

Calculated as input force times input distance ($W_i = F_i d_i$); this is the work put into the machine.

Output Work ($W_o$)

Calculated as output force times output distance ($W_o = F_o d_o$); this is the useful work the machine does on the load.