Mechanical advantage (MA) is the ratio by which effort force relates to resistance force. If both forces are known, calculating MA is simply a matter of dividing resistance force by effort force:

MA = \( \frac{F_r}{F_e} \) = \( \frac{9 ft.}{22.5 ft.} \) = 0.4

In this case, the mechanical advantage is less than one meaning that each unit of effort force results in just 0.4 units of resistance force. However, a third class lever like this isn't designed to multiply force like a first class lever. A third class lever is designed to multiply distance and speed at the resistance by sacrificing force at the resistance. Different lever styles have different purposes and multiply forces in different ways.

Potential energy is the energy of an object by virtue of its position relative to other objects. It is energy that has the potential to be converted into kinetic energy.

Static friction is friction between two or more solid objects that are not moving relative to each other. An example is the friction that prevents a box on a sloped surface from sliding farther down the surface.

Power is the rate at which work is done, P = w/t, or work per unit time. The watt (W) is the unit for power and is equal to 1 joule (or newton-meter) per second. Horsepower (hp) is another familiar unit of power used primarily for rating internal combustion engines. 1 hp equals 746 watts.