A child makes a ramp to push his toy dump truck up to his sandbox. If he uses 5 newtons of force to push the 12-newton truck up the ramp, what is the mechanical advantage of his ramp?
MA = Output Force/Input Force
a. 0.4
b. 2.4
c. 17
d. 60
To find the mechanical advantage (MA) of the ramp, you need to divide the output force (the force with which the truck moves up the ramp) by the input force (the force applied by the child).
In this case, the input force is 5 newtons, and the output force is the weight of the truck, which is 12 newtons.
MA = Output Force / Input Force
MA = 12 newtons / 5 newtons
MA ≈ 2.4
Therefore, the mechanical advantage of the ramp is approximately 2.4.
The correct option is b. 2.4