Lever

How does the exhibit work?

Choose a rope. Try to lift the car with it. Then try another rope. With which rope is it easier?

This project was made possible thanks to the support of BMW Group and Juma. Want to find out how BMW supports technical schools and students? Visit BMW Group education.

What is the science behind it? 

‘Give me a lever long enough and I will move the earth.’ A famous Greek scientist called Archimedes said that. And it’s true: with a lever you can lift something heavy, like a car, without having to be super strong. But what is a lever actually? 

A lever has 5 parts: 

• The load: in this case that’s the car 

• The force: the strength you use 

• The fulcrum or pivot point: the point on which the lever turns or rests 

• The effort arm: the part of the lever from the fulcrum to the force you exert 

• The load arm: the part of the lever from the fulcrum to the car 

The longer the effort arm and the shorter the load arm, the less force you have to exert to lift the load. 

So was Archimedes really able to move the earth? Well… he could have used the moon as a fulcrum. But he would have needed a lever that was quadrillions of kilometres long (in other words, extreeeemely long). So don’t count on it. 

A seesaw as a lever 

A seesaw in the playground is a lever.  

If you and your friend weigh about the same, you need to sit at the same distance from the fulcrum to go up and down.  

If your friend is heavier, he or she needs to sit a little closer to the fulcrum than you. That way you’ll still be able to go up and down easily.

A wheelbarrow as a lever 

A wheelbarrow is a lever too. A lever turns around a fixed point: the fulcrum. In the case of a wheelbarrow, this is the wheel. The load is what’s in the wheelbarrow, such as hay. The strength you use to lift the wheelbarrow is the force. 

A wheelbarrow is a different type of lever from the one with the car, because the fulcrum isn’t between the force and the load this time.