A construction crew must use a lever to lift a boulder. The mechanical advantage of the lever is 6 and the lever applies a force of 1600 N to the rock. What is the force that the construction crew must apply to the lever?
a. 380 J
b. 134 J
c. 267 J
d. 534 J
The mechanical advantage of a lever is calculated by dividing the output force by the input force. In this case, the mechanical advantage is 6, meaning the output force is 6 times greater than the input force.
Let's represent the force that the construction crew must apply to the lever as F. Since the mechanical advantage is 6, the output force is 6 times greater than the input force, so we can write:
1600 N = 6F
To solve for F, divide both sides of the equation by 6:
F = 1600 N / 6 = 267 J
Therefore, the force that the construction crew must apply to the lever is 267 J. The answer is c.