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The amount of effort saved when using machines is called mechanical advantage (MA). Simple machines use mechanical advantage as a key property to their functionality, helping humans perform tasks that would require more force than a person could produce. We will use the lever as an example of a simple machine to illustrate the concept of mechanical advantage.

The idea of the electric field, how it's useful, and explains how the electric field is defined.

Video 1: What are frequency polygons?
Video 2: Examples of frequency polygons
Video 3: Further examples of frequency polygons

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Calculate measures of central tendency and percentiles on grouped data.
• Construct a frequency polygon.
• Construct a line graph.

This video explores how to find the mean from data in a table.

This video explores the histogram: which is one of the ways in which to present data.

Video 1: How to create a line graph based on data
Video 2: Examples of different line graphs
Video 3: Further examples of line graphs

Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.

Magnetism is an interaction that allows certain kinds of objects, which are called ‘magnetic’ objects, to exert forces on each other without physically touching. A magnetic object is surrounded by a magnetic ‘field’ that gets weaker as one moves further away from the object. A second object can feel a magnetic force from the first object because it feels the magnetic field of the first object. The further away the objects are the weaker the magnetic force will be.

In this unit we will learn how these factors can affect the output of a simple machine. We will also learn about the difference between ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) and actual mechanical advantage (AMA), and how to apply your knowledge to calculate the efficiency of various simple machines.