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Planes practice questions

27 questions from the mechanical aptitude practice test.

Planes practice test

10 questions, graded as you go, with the reason for every answer. No sign-up.

What this covers

Sample questions

Which simple machine is a screw thread most closely related to?

  1. An inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder
  2. A lever that pivots about the screw head
  3. A pulley that runs along the screw shank
  4. A wheel and axle joined at the screw tip
Show the answer

A. An inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder

Unwinding a thread gives a long, gentle ramp, which is why a small turning force produces a large clamping force. The thread itself does not act as a lever or pulley.

Reference: Simple machines: screw

Mountain roads usually wind back and forth instead of going straight up the slope. Which principle does this use?

  1. The inclined plane
  2. The first-class lever
  3. The wheel and axle
  4. The movable pulley
Show the answer

A. The inclined plane

A winding road is a longer, gentler incline to the same height, so less force is needed at any moment to climb it. The cost is a longer distance traveled.

Reference: Simple machines: inclined plane (ideal MA = length of slope ÷ height)

As a ramp to a fixed height is made steeper, what happens to its mechanical advantage?

  1. It increases
  2. It stays the same
  3. It decreases
  4. It becomes zero
Show the answer

C. It decreases

A steeper ramp is shorter for the same rise, and mechanical advantage is slope length divided by height, so it falls. It never reaches zero; a vertical lift has an advantage of 1.

Reference: Simple machines: inclined plane (ideal MA = length of slope ÷ height)

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