ASVAB Mechanical Comprehension Practice Test 194584

Questions 5
Topics Block and Tackle, Inertia, Normal Force, Principle of Moments, Weight

Study Guide

Block and Tackle

Two or more pulleys used together constitute a block and tackle which, unlike a fixed pulley, does impart mechanical advantage as a function of the number of pulleys that make up the arrangement. So, for example, a block and tackle with three pulleys would have a mechanical advantage of three.

Inertia

The more mass a substance has the more force is required to move it or to change its direction. This resistance to changes in direction is known as inertia.

Normal Force

Normal force (FN) represents the force a surface exerts when an object presses against it.

Principle of Moments

When a system is stable or balanced (equilibrium) all forces acting on the system cancel each other out. In the case of torque, equilibrium means that the sum of the anticlockwise moments about a center of rotation equal the sum of the clockwise moments.

Weight

Mass is an intrinsic property of matter and does not vary. Weight is the force exerted on the mass of an object due to gravity and a specific case of Newton's Second Law of Motion. Replace force with weight and acceleration with acceleration due to gravity on Earth (g) and the result is the formula for weight: W = mg or, substituting for g, weight equals mass multiplied by 9.8 m/s2.