Enter the length of the effort arm and the length of the load arm of a lever into the calculator below to determine the mechanical advantage.
Mechanical Advantage Formula
The following formula is used to calculator the mechanical advantage of a lever.
MA = ea / la
- Where MA is the mechanical advantage
- ea is the length of the effort arm
- and la is the length of the load arm
Mechanical advantage is a term used to describe the ratio of an output force to the input force. In other words, the amount of output with a given effort. Using physics and “leverages” certain mechanical features can be constructed to output a larger force that was input.
In the case of a lever, the mechanical advantage is directly related to the length of each arm. Each arm has an equal effect on the MA.
How to calculate a mechanical advantage
- First, measure the length of the effort arm.
This is the end of the arm that will have force applied to is by the user of the leverage.
- Next, measure the length of the load arm.
The load arm is the portion of the level that will apply a load to the end object.
- Calculate the mechanical advantage.
Enter the length of the load arm and effort arms into the ratio to calculate the mechanical advantage
