Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of equal volumes of a substance and water and is measured by a hyrdometer.

Coefficient of friction (μ) represents how much two materials resist sliding across each other.  Smooth surfaces like ice have low coefficients of friction while rough surfaces like concrete have high μ.

The mechanical advantage (MA) of an inclined plane is the effort distance divided by the resistance distance. In this case, the effort distance is the length of the ramp and the resistance distance is the height of the green box:

MA = \( \frac{d_e}{d_r} \) = \( \frac{24 ft.}{8 ft.} \) = 3

The efficiency of a machine describes how much of the power put into the machine is turned into movement or force. A 100% efficient machine would turn all of the input power into output movement or force. However, no machine is 100% efficient due to friction, heat, wear and other imperfections that consume input power without delivering any output.

Mechanics deals with motion and the forces that produce motion.