How to Answer: You have a lever that must lift 50 pounds. The lever is 1 foot long with a fulcrum point 4 inches from the right side, which must supply the lifting force. How much force needs to be applied to the left-hand side? What mechanical advantage is this?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Mechanical Engineer job interview.
35. You have a lever that must lift 50 pounds. The lever is 1 foot long with a fulcrum point 4 inches from the right side, which must supply the lifting force. How much force needs to be applied to the left-hand side? What mechanical advantage is this?
How to Answer
Your interviewer will likely ask you situation- and knowledge-based questions to understand how well you are able to explain concepts to others. Be prepared for questions like this one by practicing a few possibilities ahead of time. This question describes a lever, which is a type of simple machine that creates mechanical advantage. The amount of mechanical advantage depends on the location of the fulcrum or rotation point. In this case, the fulcrum is 4 inches from the right side of a 12 inch lever, so it is 8 inches away from the left-hand side. The equation for a lever system is F1D1 = F2D2, which states that the forces applied on the left-hand and right-hand side are equal when multiplied by their respective distance from the fulcrum. Mechanical advantage can be determined by dividing the applied load on the right-hand side by the force applied to the left-hand side to find the amplification of the force.
Written by Jason Toby on October 12th, 2020
Answer Example
"The force required is 25 pounds. This can be found by multiplying 50 pounds by four inches, then dividing by eight inches using the equation F1D1 = F2D2. This results in a mechanical advantage of two, meaning that this lever will apply a load on the right-hand side that is double the force supplied to the left-hand side."
Written by Jason Toby on October 12th, 2020