Which one of the following sketches correctly describes a lever of second class ?

Q: What is the answer to NDA (II) 2024 GAT Q71?

C. Correct — C. Levers are classified by which of the three points — fulcrum, load, effort — lies in the **middle**. **First class:** the fulcrum is in the middle, between effort and load. A see-saw or a pair of scissors. **Second class:** the **load** is in the middle, between the fulcrum and the effort. A wheelbarrow or a nutcracker. **Third class:** the effort is in the middle, between the fulcrum and the load. Tongs, or a fishing rod. In the printed sketches, (c) shows the fulcrum drawn as a triangle at one end of the bar, the load acting downwards at the middle, and the effort applied upwards at the far end. The load sits between the other two, so it is a second-class lever. (Provisional — pending the official UPSC key.)

(a)A tilted bar with the load at one end, the fulcrum next to it, and the effort at the far end
(b)A bar with the effort at one end, the fulcrum in the middle and the load at the other end
(c)A bar with the fulcrum at one end, the load in the middle and the effort at the other end
(d)A bar with the fulcrum at one end, the effort in the middle and the load at the other end

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Levers are classified by which of the three points — fulcrum, load, effort — lies in the middle.

First class: the fulcrum is in the middle, between effort and load. A see-saw or a pair of scissors.
Second class: the load is in the middle, between the fulcrum and the effort. A wheelbarrow or a nutcracker.
Third class: the effort is in the middle, between the fulcrum and the load. Tongs, or a fishing rod.

In the printed sketches, (c) shows the fulcrum drawn as a triangle at one end of the bar, the load acting downwards at the middle, and the effort applied upwards at the far end. The load sits between the other two, so it is a second-class lever.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
A tilted bar with the load at one end, the fulcrum next to it, and the effort at the far end — The fulcrum lies between the load and the effort, which makes this a first-class lever, not a second.
(b)
A bar with the effort at one end, the fulcrum in the middle and the load at the other end — The classic first-class arrangement — a see-saw. The middle point is the fulcrum, so it cannot be second class.
(d)
A bar with the fulcrum at one end, the effort in the middle and the load at the other end — Here the effort is in the middle, which defines a THIRD-class lever. It is the mirror image of the second-class case, and the two are easy to confuse.

Concept

A lever is a rigid bar turning about a fulcrum, with an effort applied to move a load. The three classes are distinguished solely by the order of the three points along the bar. Second-class levers, with the load between fulcrum and effort, always have the effort arm longer than the load arm, so they always give a mechanical advantage greater than one.

Naming which point is in the middle is quicker and safer than trying to recall example objects. The second and third classes are the pair most often swapped, because both have the fulcrum at one end — the only difference is whether the load or the effort occupies the middle. A useful anchor: a wheelbarrow (second class) puts the heavy load between the wheel and your hands, and it makes lifting easier; tongs (third class) put your grip between the hinge and the object, and they make lifting harder but give finer control.

Key facts

First class: fulcrum in the middle — see-saw, scissors.
Second class: LOAD in the middle — wheelbarrow, nutcracker.
Third class: effort in the middle — tongs, fishing rod.
A second-class lever always has mechanical advantage greater than one.
A third-class lever always has mechanical advantage less than one.

Which point is in the middle?

(a) load – fulcrum – effort→Fulcrum in the middle → first class

(b) effort – fulcrum – load→Fulcrum in the middle → first class

(d) fulcrum – effort – load→Effort in the middle → third class

Classify by the middle point alone — the load is in the middle only in sketch (c).

Study next

The three classes of leversMechanical advantage and the ratio of effort arm to load armMoments and the principle of the leverLevers in the human body

Common traps

Confusing second and third class, which both put the fulcrum at one end.
Classifying from remembered examples rather than from the order of the three points.
Assuming every lever makes work easier — third-class levers do not.

NDA prints labelled lever sketches and names a class — identify which of fulcrum, load and effort lies between the other two.

Related PYQs

NDA_GAT_2023_I_Q1262023Open & attempt →

Which one of the following is an example of Second Class Lever?

(a) A pair of scissors
(b) A bottle opener
(c) A cricket bat
(d) A bow and arrow

Answer(b) A bottle opener

The identical concept asked without a figure — it lists four household objects and asks which is a second-class lever, testing the same 'load in the middle' rule.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
A wheelbarrow is an example of a lever of which class?
- (a)First
- (b)Second
- (c)Third
- (d)It is not a lever
Answer(b) Second — the load sits between the wheel (fulcrum) and the hands (effort).
practice — not a real PYQ
In a third-class lever, the mechanical advantage is
- (a)always greater than one
- (b)always less than one
- (c)always equal to one
- (d)sometimes greater and sometimes less than one
Answer(b) always less than one — the effort arm is shorter than the load arm.