Laura squeezes the hand brakes of her
bicycle with a force of 60 N. If the brake
pads push on the wheel with a force of
300 N, what is the mechanical advantage
of this bike’s brake system?
To determine the mechanical advantage of the bike's brake system, you need to find the ratio between the force applied by Laura to the hand brakes and the force exerted by the brake pads. The mechanical advantage can be calculated using the following formula:
Mechanical Advantage = Force output / Force input
In this case, the force applied by Laura to the hand brakes is the input force, which is 60 N, and the force exerted by the brake pads on the wheel is the output force, which is 300 N.
Mechanical Advantage = 300 N / 60 N
Mechanical Advantage = 5
Therefore, the mechanical advantage of this bike's brake system is 5.