Investigating Levers

Aim: To investigate the advantage of using a lever to lift a load

Hypothesis: I think the more you move the pivot point the less load it will carry

Equipment: 30 cm ruler, a pencil, 2 plastic cups, 20 marbles, blue tak

Method: 

1. Tape the two cups to either end of the ruler centred on the 2 cm and 28 cm mark
2. Place the pencil under the ruler at the 15 cm mark. The pencil will act as the pivot point
3. Add 10 marbles to the cup at the zero end of the ruler
4. Add the marbles one by one to the other cup (at the 30 cm end) until the cups are balanced
5. Record how many marbles were needed
6. Move the pencil to the 13 cm mark and repeat steps 4 and 5
7. Move the pencil to the 10 cm mark and repeat steps 4 and 5

Results/Conclusion: The more we moved the pivot point, the fewer marbles were able to be carried