What term describes a grooved wheel with a rope, chain, or cable running along the groove?

• A. Lever
• B. Pulley
• C. Screw
• D. Wheel and Axle

Answer: (B)

A pulley is a wheel with a groove that a rope, chain, or cable sits in. When you pull on the rope, the wheel turns and the force is transferred to the load, with the groove guiding the rope. The main idea is that a pulley changes the direction of the applied force, which makes lifting or moving a load easier. In simple setups, it just redirects force; in systems with multiple pulleys, it can also provide a mechanical advantage by distributing the effort across several rope segments. This description specifically matches a pulley, unlike a lever (rigid bar and fulcrum), a screw (an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder), or a wheel and axle (two connected radii rotating together).