Levers and Movement Analysis

What Levers and Movement Analysis covers

Levers and Movement Analysis is examined in AS Unit 1, Exploring physical education. It covers the three orders of lever in the body, mechanical advantage and lever length, planes and axes of rotation and joint movement patterns in sporting actions.

The 4 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The three orders of lever in the bodyThe components of a lever, first-, second- and third-order levers and how to identify them, and the levers at the neck, elbow, ankle, knee, hip and shoulder in sporting actions.Open →
• Mechanical advantage and lever lengthEffort arm and resistance arm, calculating mechanical advantage with worked ankle and elbow examples, the trade-offs of second- and third-order levers, lever length and speed, the tennis racket and the weightlifter.Open →
• Planes and axes of rotationThe sagittal, frontal and transverse planes, the longitudinal, transverse and anterior-posterior axes, and the plane and axis of a front somersault, a cartwheel, a discus turn, running and a star jump.Open →
• Joint movement patterns in sporting actionsFlexion, extension, abduction, adduction, circumduction and rotation, pronation and supination, plantar flexion and dorsiflexion, lateral flexion, horizontal adduction and abduction, and the press-up and squat.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Levers and Movement Analysis further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Second-order lever vs Third-order lever

  Second-order lever: a system with the load between the pivot and the effort. Third-order lever: a system with the effort between the pivot and the load.

• Mechanical advantage vs Mechanical disadvantage

  Mechanical advantage: an effort arm longer than the resistance arm, so a small force moves a large load. Mechanical disadvantage: a resistance arm longer than the effort arm, giving speed and range at the cost of force.

• Sagittal plane vs Frontal plane

  Sagittal plane: an imaginary flat surface dividing the body into left and right halves. Frontal plane: an imaginary flat surface dividing the body into anterior and posterior halves.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What are the three components of a lever system?

   Model answer

   A lever system has a pivot or fulcrum, an effort and a load or resistance. Bones act as levers and joints act as pivots in the body.

2. 2

   In a body lever, what provides the effort and what provides the load?

   Model answer

   The effort comes from a contracting muscle pulling on the bone. The load is the weight of the body part plus anything it moves.

3. 3

   What is a first-order lever?

   Model answer

   A first-order lever, also called a first-class lever, has the pivot between the effort and the load. A see-saw is the everyday example.

4. 4

   What is a second-order lever?

   Model answer

   A second-order lever has the load between the pivot and the effort. A wheelbarrow is the everyday example.

5. 5

   What is a third-order lever?

   Model answer

   A third-order lever has the effort between the pivot and the load. Most joints in the body work as third-order levers.

6. 6

   How can the order of a lever be identified quickly?

   Model answer

   Find which component sits in the middle. A pivot in the middle means first order, a load means second order and an effort means third order.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Levers and Movement Analysis revision questions

What does Levers and Movement Analysis cover in WJEC A-Level Physical Education?

4 subtopics: the three orders of lever in the body, mechanical advantage and lever length, planes and axes of rotation and joint movement patterns in sporting actions. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Levers and Movement Analysis organised?

By the WJEC 601-8485-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.