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New
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Year 10
OCR

Levers and mechanical advantage

I can identify each class of lever and apply a sporting example of each.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
OCR

Levers and mechanical advantage

I can identify each class of lever and apply a sporting example of each.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are three different types of lever in the human body.
  2. Levers are categorised based on the location of the load, effort and fulcrum.
  3. Sporting examples of a first class lever include the neck when heading the ball in football.
  4. Sporting examples of a second class lever include pointing the toes at the ankle during a jump shot in basketball.
  5. Sporting examples of a third class lever include flexion of the elbow in a bicep curl.

Keywords

  • First class lever - fulcrum is placed in the middle bewteen the load and effort

  • Second class lever - load is placed in the middle bewteen the fulcrum and effort

  • Third class lever - effort is placed in the middle between the load and effort

  • Mechanical advantage - a second class lever allows a large load to be moved with a small amount of effort

Common misconception

All joint movements require the same sort of leverage.

The orientation of the fulcrum (joint), the effort (muscle) and the load dictate which of the three classes of lever it is and also if there is a mechanical advantage.


To help you plan your year 10 physical education lesson on: Levers and mechanical advantage, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Introduce the shapes used to represent the fulcrum, effort and load early in the lesson and have them on a post it note (1 per shape) ready for the pupils to move them around on clear examples of the neck, ankle and elbow.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

Post-it notes, mini whiteboards, images of sporting actions at the neck, ankle and elbow.

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Where in the body would you find a hinge joint?
shoulder
Correct answer: knee
hip
Correct answer: elbow
Q2.
Which of the following bones articulates at the elbow joint?
An image in a quiz
scapula
Correct answer: humerus
femur
tibia
Q3.
Match the bones to the correct location in the body.
Correct Answer:shoulder,scapula and humerus
tick

scapula and humerus

Correct Answer:elbow,humerus, radius and ulna
tick

humerus, radius and ulna

Correct Answer:hip,pelvis and femur
tick

pelvis and femur

Correct Answer:knee,femur and tibia
tick

femur and tibia

Q4.
Which movement causes the angle at a joint to decrease?
Correct answer: flexion
extension
adduction
rotation
Q5.
The shoulder is an example of a ball and socket joint. Where else in the body would you find a ball and socket joint?
Correct Answer: hip, hips
Q6.
Name the muscle in the back of the lower leg in this image.
An image in a quiz
quadriceps
hamstrings
gluteals
Correct answer: gastrocnemius
abdominals

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the shape to the correct component of a lever.
Correct Answer:bone,horizontal line
tick

horizontal line

Correct Answer:fulcrum,triangle
tick

triangle

Correct Answer:load (resistance),square
tick

square

Correct Answer:effort,arrow
tick

arrow

Q2.
The load is positioned in the middle of which lever system?
first class lever
Correct answer: second class lever
third class lever
Q3.
Which of the following diagrams is correct for third class lever?
An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Q4.
Match the area of the body to the correct lever system.
Correct Answer:elbow,third class lever
tick

third class lever

Correct Answer:ankle,second class lever
tick

second class lever

Correct Answer:neck,first class lever
tick

first class lever

Q5.
Using football examples, match the sporting action to the correct lever system.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:running towards the ball,second class lever
tick

second class lever

Correct Answer:heading a ball,first class lever
tick

first class lever

Correct Answer:goal keeper catching the ball into chest,third class lever
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third class lever

Q6.
In a second class lever, the effort arm is shorter than the resistance arm and therefore has mechanical...
Correct Answer: advantage