Pulley Lab

The Purpose of this lab was to understand how force can be manipulated by simple tools and machinery, like a pulley. The goal of the lab was to use the pulley machine, string, a manual force probe, and a brass object (mass of 200g) to distinguish the relationship between force and distance while using a simple machine, in this case a pulley.


Important Information and Lab Summary: By using simple machines like a pulley, we are able to decrease the amount of force needed to lift weight, in this case a 200g brass mass. But like most things, there is always a catch or a trade off - in order to minimize the force exerted, we must increase the distance used. In the lab, decreasing the amount of force meant applying more string.


Key Data/Points:

- Increase distance = decrease in force (vice versa)
- Without a pulley: 200g = 2 N of force
- With a pulley: 200g = 0.9 N of force w/20 cm of string (distance)
- Area is equal to force times distance
- Energy transferred by applying a force over a distance = Work (J)
- W = Fd

Connection to real world:                                                                               

In most theaters, the stage crew uses an actual
pulley to lift and lower the curtain. By using the pulley, it allows the stage crew to lift the heavy curtain more easily and requires less effort to lift it. The pulley allows for a large amount of mass to be lifted with a little amount of force required as well as being a lot more convenient than doing it manually.