The Power of the Lever | Simple Machines Series Part 1 of 7

October 15, 2025

Have you tried to open a paint tin with a spoon?

It sounds impossible, but that’s the power of a lever. With a pivot (fulcrum) in the right place, you can lift things that would normally be far too heavy.

This post is Part 1 of our exclusive seven-part Simple Machines series — exploring the six basic mechanical ideas we use every day: the lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, and screw.

Simple machines are everywhere: the hidden helpers behind playground fun, kitchen gadgets, heavy lifting, and even sweeping the floor.

We’re starting with one of the most recognisable: the lever. Humans have used levers for thousands of years, from moving massive stones to sweeping the floor or even lifting up a car! Even though it’s simple, a lever makes life a whole lot easier by helping us lift, push, or cut with less effort.

Everyday Examples of Levers

Levers are everywhere once you know how to spot them:

Seesaws at the play park — the classic lever!
Scissors — each handle and blade is a lever working together.
Wheelbarrows — the handles let you lift heavy loads more easily.
Brooms — sweeping the floor uses lever action.

👉 Once you start looking, you’ll see levers everywhere!

The Three Classes of Levers

Did you know scientists actually group levers into three different types?

First-class lever → fulcrum in the middle (like a seesaw or crowbar).
Second-class lever → load in the middle (like a wheelbarrow or nutcracker).
Third-class lever → effort in the middle (like a broom or tongs).

Illustration of first, second, and third class levers with children and objects. The three classes of levers, showing where the fulcrum, load, and effort are.

👩🏽🔬 Quick Science Link

A lever works by having a fulcrum (the pivot point) and two sides:

Effort arm → where you push or pull.
Load arm → the side that moves the object.

By changing where the fulcrum sits, you can make lifting heavy things much easier. That’s why:

Ancient builders could move giant stones.
You can open a paint tin with a spoon!

👉 This all links back to the science of forces: a lever proves that even a small push or pull can create a big change — that’s force in action!

🧪 Mini Activity: Lever Hunt

👉 Challenge your class to find 3 levers in the room.

Ask:

What’s the fulcrum?
Where’s the effort applied?
What’s the load?

💡 Challenge your pupils: Can they sort their finds into first, second, or third class levers?

✨ Teacher Tip

This activity works brilliantly as a 5-minute starter. It gets pupils thinking about science in their everyday environment without needing any prep or equipment.

✂️ Happy lever hunting! Let your pupils show you just how much force is in action every day.

Explore More with Our Forces Series

✨ Want more simple machines learning? Explore our Forces — Second Level pack →

Forces complete digital topic pack for Science at Second Level, Curriculum for Excellence physics and STEM education resource, with illustrated cover design and sample activity pages showing experiments, activities, teacher’s notes, assessments, extension tasks, and outcomes.