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How to Make Your Own Lever

A lever is a simple machine that distributes force in a mechanically advantageous way. The use of a lever allows the same amount of force, or effort, to lift a greater load than you could manage without a lever. The position of the pivoting point, or fulcrum, determines how force is distributed over the lever. A common type of lever is the class one lever, which has the fulcrum positioned between the effort and the load -- an example of this is a playground seesaw.

Things You'll Need

Pencil
Masking tape
2 paper cups
Drawing marker
Small stone
Pennies

Instructions

- 1
  Use masking tape to secure a pencil to a tabletop -- the pencil will act as the fulcrum in this lever.
- 2
  Use tape to secure two paper cups of the same size and model to each end of a 12-inch ruler. Use a marker to label one cup as the "effort" cup and the other as the "load" cup. Place and center the ruler on top of the pencil so that both sides are balanced and stable.
- 3
  Place a small stone in the "load" cup -- this will cause that side of the ruler to drop due to the weight. Add pennies to the "effort" cup until the ruler is balanced.
- 4
  Empty the pennies from the "effort" cup. Adjust the ruler so that the pencil is closer to the "load" cup. Add pennies to the "effort" cup one at a time -- less pennies will be required to balance the lever due to the distribution of force along the lever.

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