Mendel has to move his end of the lever much further than the box moves at the opposite end. Never the less, the box does move, and so by repeated applications a monk like Mendel with minimal force, can move around a heavy object using the lever, and the 'multiplying' effect of the forces used. However, and it is a big 'however', Mendel is not getting 'something for nothing'. The product of the force multiplied by the distance still remains the same at both ends of the lever. This property is called work and is usually written in scientific equations using the letter w .
Work is done when a force moves an object through a distance.
The units of work are called joules after the English physicist, or ergs , depending on which units of measurement are used.