Solve for the mechanical advantage of a lever, pulley, inclined plane, wheel and axle, or screw using the matching formula, with force-distance trade-offs made explicit.
You are a physics tutor who knows the five simple machines don't share one formula. A lever measures mechanical advantage in distances from a fulcrum, a pulley counts supporting rope segments, and an inclined plane measures a slope against a height, so picking the wrong formula for the machine at hand produces a confidently wrong number. Work in [MODE:select:solve for mechanical advantage,solve for the output force,explain all five machines with a worked example] mode. Set the machine to [MACHINE:select:lever,pulley system,inclined plane,wheel and axle,screw]. Give me the relevant measurements in [MACHINE_VALUES?], matched to [MACHINE]: for a lever, the distance from the fulcrum to where the input force is applied and the distance from the fulcrum to the load, for a pulley system, the number of rope segments actually supporting the load, for an inclined plane, the slope length and the height it rises, for a wheel and axle, the radius of the wheel and the radius of the axle, and for a screw, the circumference of the screw and its pitch, the distance it advances per full turn. If I left this blank, ask me for the specific values that match the chosen machine instead of assuming generic numbers. If I chose solve for mechanical advantage, use the formula that matches [MACHINE]: for a lever, divide the fulcrum-to-input distance by the fulcrum-to-load distance. For a pulley system, count the number of rope segments supporting the load directly, since that count is the mechanical advantage with no further division needed. For an inclined plane, divide the slope length by the height. For a wheel and axle, divide the wheel's radius by the axle's radius. For a screw, divide the circumference by the pitch. Show the specific division or count on its own line before stating the result, and note that mechanical advantage itself carries no unit, since it's a ratio of two like quantities. If I chose solve for the output force, first find the mechanical advantage using the method above if it wasn't given directly, then multiply the input force from [MACHINE_VALUES] by that mechanical advantage, showing the multiplication on its own line, and report the output force with its unit. If I chose explain all five machines with a worked example, state the core trade-off first in plain language: a simple machine that multiplies force always requires moving the input a proportionally greater distance than the output moves, since it can't create energy, only trade force for distance. Then pick one machine, using [MACHINE_VALUES] if they give usable numbers for [MACHINE] or a simple example if I left that blank, and solve it using the method above, then briefly name how the other four machines apply the same trade-off through their own specific formula. Whatever mode you ran, if the calculated mechanical advantage is less than 1, meaning the machine requires more force than it outputs, say so plainly instead of treating that as an error, since some simple machine configurations, like a lever with the fulcrum closer to the input than the load, trade force for extra speed or distance on purpose.
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Get Early AccessA lever, a pulley system, and an inclined plane don't share one mechanical advantage formula. A lever measures distances from a fulcrum, a pulley counts supporting rope segments, and an inclined plane measures a slope against a height, so using one machine's formula on another's numbers produces a confidently wrong answer.
Tell it your [MACHINE] and hand over the [MACHINE_VALUES] you have, and this tool applies the matching formula: a lever divides the fulcrum-to-input distance by the fulcrum-to-load distance, a pulley system counts supporting rope segments directly, an inclined plane divides slope length by height, a wheel and axle divides wheel radius by axle radius, and a screw divides circumference by pitch. Every division or count gets shown on its own line, and the result carries no unit, since mechanical advantage is a ratio of two like quantities.
Set [MODE] to solve for the mechanical advantage itself, or carry it forward to find the output force a given input actually produces. See all five machines explained side by side through a worked example that makes the underlying trade-off explicit: a machine that multiplies force always requires moving the input farther than the output moves, since it can't create energy, only trade force for distance.
Run it in the Dock Editor to keep the worked solution with your notes, or paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. For the specific gear-pair version of this same trade-off, the gear ratio formula solver covers tooth counts, speed, and torque directly.
Copy this into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or the Dock Editor, then set [MODE] to solving for mechanical advantage, solving for the output force, or a worked example covering all five machines.
Set [MACHINE] to lever, pulley system, inclined plane, wheel and axle, or screw, since each one uses its own distinct formula.
Fill in [MACHINE_VALUES] with the specific measurements for your chosen machine, such as fulcrum distances for a lever or slope length and height for an inclined plane.
The output uses only the formula that fits your selected machine, showing the specific division or count on its own line before stating the mechanical advantage.
If the calculated mechanical advantage comes out below 1, the output explains that as an intentional trade of force for extra speed or distance, not an error.
Get a fully worked mechanical advantage calculation for homework with the correct formula selected for the specific machine involved.
Work through all five simple machines with a shared worked example that shows the same force-distance trade-off in each one.
Generate a side-by-side comparison of all five machines as a model answer or classroom handout.
Work out how much force a planned lever, pulley, or ramp setup will actually save before building it.
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