When using a lever, what happens to the applied force?

When using a lever, the applied force can indeed be decreased depending on the position of the pivot. A lever operates on the principle of mechanical advantage, where the distance from the pivot to where the force is applied, known as the effort arm, can affect the amount of force needed to lift the load on the other side of the lever. By positioning the pivot closer to the load, the required force to lift that load can be significantly reduced, allowing a smaller input force to achieve the same output effect. This relationship is crucial in understanding how levers multiply forces and is a key principle in physics related to simple machines.

In contrast, increasing the applied force is not a general effect of levers; rather, they are typically designed to reduce the effort needed. The idea of applied force becoming irrelevant does not hold, as force and distance are central to the function of levers. Lastly, while levers do involve concepts of distance and force, the requirement of less distance for the same effect is misleading—levers can allow a greater distance to be used to lessen the force required, but they do not inherently require less distance for the same output effect.