The wedge is a moving inclined plane that is used to lift, hold, or break apart an object. A wedge converts force applied to its blunt end into force perpendicular to its inclined surface. In contrast to a stationary plane where force is applied to the object being moved, with a wedge the object is stationary and the force is being applied to the plane. Examples of a wedge include knives and chisels.

The mechanical advantage (MA) of an inclined plane is the effort distance divided by the resistance distance. In order to increase mechanical advantage, this ratio must increase which means making the effort distance longer and this can be accomplished by lengthening the length of the ramp.

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object.  In general, larger objects have larger mass than smaller objects but mass ultimately depends on how compact (dense) a substance is.

To balance this lever the torques at the green box and the blue arrow must be equal. Torque is weight x distance from the fulcrum so the equation for equilibrium is:

R_ad_a = R_bd_b

Solving for R_b, our missing value, and plugging in our variables yields:

R_b = \( \frac{R_ad_a}{d_b} \) = \( \frac{45 lbs. \times 5 ft.}{6 ft.} \) = \( \frac{225 ft⋅lb}{6 ft.} \) = 37.5 lbs.

Torque measures force applied during rotation: τ = rF.  Torque (τ, the Greek letter tau) = the radius of the lever arm (r) multiplied by the force (F) applied. Radius is measured from the center of rotation or fulcrum to the point at which the perpendicular force is being applied. The resulting unit for torque is newton-meter (N-m) or foot-pound (ft-lb).