Lever Try It Worksheets - Free Printable

Let’s think through this step by step.

We’re looking at three different lever setups. In each one, a person is pushing down on one end of the lever (that’s the “effort”), and there are boxes on the other end (that’s the “load”). The triangle under the lever is the fulcrum — that’s the pivot point.

The key idea:
The closer the fulcrum is to the load, the less effort you need to lift it.
The farther the fulcrum is from the load (and closer to the effort), the more effort you need.

Let’s look at each setup:

---

Setup #1:
- Fulcrum is in the middle.
- Effort and load are about equally far from the fulcrum.
→ So, medium effort needed.

Setup #2:
- Fulcrum is very close to the load.
- That means the effort side is long → big advantage!
→ Least effort needed here.

Setup #3:
- Fulcrum is very close to the effort.
- Load is far away → hard to lift!
→ Most effort needed here.

So, ranking from least to most effort:
#2 (least) → #1 (medium) → #3 (most)

Now, for the prediction part:
You’re supposed to guess before trying it. But since we’re solving it now, we’ll use what we know.

For “My Prediction” and “Actual”, they should match if you understand levers.

On the scale from 1 (Least Effort) to 5 (Most Effort):

- Setup #2 → should be around 1 or 2
- Setup #1 → should be around 3
- Setup #3 → should be around 4 or 5

Since the worksheet asks you to circle a number, let’s pick reasonable values based on how far the fulcrum is moved.

Looking closely at the diagrams:

In #2, fulcrum is *very* close to load → almost maximum mechanical advantage → circle 1

In #1, fulcrum is centered → balanced → circle 3

In #3, fulcrum is near effort → worst position → circle 5

Same for “Actual” — because physics doesn’t lie!

---

Final Answer:

For each row (#1, #2, #3), circle these numbers:

My Prediction:
- #1 → 3
- #2 → 1
- #3 → 5

Actual:
- #1 → 3
- #2 → 1
- #3 → 5