Boyle's law states that "for a fixed amount of an ideal gas kept at a fixed temperature, pressure and volume are inversely proportional".

A first-class lever is used to increase force or distance while changing the direction of the force. The lever pivots on a fulcrum and, when a force is applied to the lever at one side of the fulcrum, the other end moves in the opposite direction. The position of the fulcrum also defines the mechanical advantage of the lever. If the fulcrum is closer to the force being applied, the load can be moved a greater distance at the expense of requiring a greater input force. If the fulcrum is closer to the load, less force is required but the force must be applied over a longer distance. An example of a first-class lever is a seesaw / teeter-totter.

The mechanical advantage of a wheel and axle lies in the difference in radius between the inner (axle) wheel and the outer wheel. But, this mechanical advantage is only realized when the input effort and load are applied to different wheels. Applying both input effort and load to the same wheel results in a mechanical advantage of 1.

The mechanical advantage (MA) of a block and tackle pulley is equal to the number of times the effort force changes direction. An easy way to count how many times the effort force changes direction is to count the number of ropes that support the resistance which, in this problem, is 10. With a MA of 10, a 180 lbs. effort force could lift 180 lbs. x 10 = 1800 lbs. resistance.

The mechanical advantage (MA) of a wedge is its length divided by its thickness:

MA = \( \frac{l}{t} \) = \( \frac{14 in.}{2 in.} \) = 7