Question

you can increase the ideal mechanical advantage of an inclined plane by decreasing the ______ of the inclined plane

Answer 1

Answer:

You can increase the ideal mechanical advantage of an inclined plane by decreasing the angle of the inclined plane

Explanation:

Mechanical Advantage Of An Inclined Plane

Since the sloping surface of the inclined plane is always greater than its height, the ideal mechanical advantage of an inclined plane is always greater than 1. To compute the ideal mechanical advantage for an inclined plane, we divide the length of the incline by the height of the incline. For example, An inclined plane that is 10 meters long and 5 meters high has an ideal mechanical advantage of 2.

If we look at the inclined plane as a triangle formed with the height and the horizontal surface, the length L of the inclined plane is the hypotenuse of such triangle and h is the opposite leg of the angle formed with the floor. Since:

$\displaystyle sin\alpha=\frac{h}{L}$

The mechanical advantage is  

$\displaystyle MA=\frac{L}{h}=\frac{1}{sin\alpha}$

As $\alpha$ decreases, its sine also decreases and the mechanical advantage (its reciprocal) will increase. Thus the answer is

You can increase the ideal mechanical advantage of an inclined plane by decreasing the angle of the inclined plane