Load armThe part of the lever between the load and the fulcrum.
Effort armThe part of the lever from effort to fulcrum.
Wheelbarrow 3
FulcrumOn a wheelbarrow the wheel is the fulcrum.
LoadThe load sits in the middle, between wheel and handles.
EffortThe effort lifts the handles at the far end.
Fishing rod 3
FulcrumThe hand at the butt of the rod is the fulcrum.
LoadThe fish at the tip is the load.
EffortThe other hand pulls up between the fulcrum and the load.
How this list was compiled: Every name and every example checked on 2026-10-01 in two sources. (1) Wikipedia, Lever, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lever : a lever is a beam or stiff rod pivoted on a fulcrum; levers are classified by where the fulcrum, effort and resistance (or load) are); class I has the fulcrum between effort and load (a seesaw), class II the load between effort and fulcrum (a wheelbarrow), class III the effort between load and fulcrum (a fishing rod); load arm and effort arm. (2) Energy Education, University of Calgary, Lever, https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Lever : a lever needs a fulcrum and a rigid bar; effort is the input force and the load causes the resistance force; class-1 levers include seesaws, a class-2 lever is a wheelbarrow, class-3 levers include fishing rods. (3) Children's science books, passages read through archive.org's full-text search: Simple Machines (2009), https://archive.org/details/simplemachinesfo00silv (in a second-class lever the load is between the fulcrum and the effort, a wheelbarrow; a fishing rod is a third-class lever); Levers in Our Lives (2008), https://archive.org/details/leversinourlives0000kova (a seesaw is a first-class lever; fulcrum, load, effort force). Licence: own work
The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A lever is a rigid bar that turns on a fixed point. It has three parts: the fulcrum, the effort and the load. Where each one sits gives the three classes of lever.
Read the full guide
The three parts
The fulcrum is the point the bar turns on. The effort is the push or pull you put in. The load is the thing being moved. The bar between the effort and the fulcrum is the effort arm; between the load and the fulcrum, the load arm.
Three classes, three orders
On a seesaw the fulcrum is in the middle: a first-class lever. On a wheelbarrow the load is in the middle and the wheel is the fulcrum: second class. On a fishing rod the effort is in the middle: third class. The drawings show the effort as a fat arrow.
Look for the part in the middle first: fulcrum, load or effort. That one names the class.
The quiz takes pivot for fulcrum, force for effort and resistance for load.
Questions and answers
What are the 3 parts of a lever?
The fulcrum, the effort and the load. The fulcrum is the fixed point the bar turns on, the effort is the force you apply, and the load is the weight or resistance that the lever moves.
What are the three classes of lever?
First class has the fulcrum between effort and load, like a seesaw. Second class has the load in the middle, like a wheelbarrow. Third class has the effort in the middle, like a fishing rod.
Where is the fulcrum on a wheelbarrow?
At the wheel. The whole barrow turns about the axle when you lift the handles, so the load in the tray sits between the fulcrum and your effort.
What is the difference between the effort arm and the load arm?
The effort arm is the length of bar from the fulcrum to where the effort is applied. The load arm is the length from the fulcrum to the load.