RESOURCE CHART

SIMPLE MACHINES

WHAT IT IS

 

HOW IT HELPS

US WORK

 

EXAMPLES

LEVER

  A stiff bar that rests on a support called a fulcrum

  Lifts or moves loads

  Shovel, nutcracker, seesaw, crowbar, elbow, tweezers, bottle opener

INCLINED PLANE

  A slanting surface connecting a lower level to a higher level

  Things move up or down it

  Slide, stairs, ramp, escalator, slope

WHEEL AND AXEL

  A wheel with a rod, called and axel, through its center: both parts move together

  Lifts or moves loads

  Car, wagon, doorknob, pencil sharpener, bike

SCREW

  An inclined plane wrapped around a pole

  Holds things together or lifts

  Screw, jar lid, vise, bolt, drill, corkscrew

PULLEY

  A grooved wheel with a rope or cable around it

  Moves things up, down, or across

  Curtain rod, tow truck, mini-blind, flag pole, crane

WEDGE

  An object with at least one slanting side ending in a sharp edge

  Cuts or spreads an object apart

  Knife, pin, nail, chisel, axe, snowplow, front of a boat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIMPLE MACHINE WEB

A MACHINE IS A DEVICE FOR INCREASING FORCES OR CHANGING THE DIRECTION OF A FORCE.

  • LEVERS
    • HELP TO LIFT LOADS WITH LESS EFFORT. THE FORCE NEEDED FOR LIFTING DECREASES AS THE DISTANCE OF THE EFFORT ARM INCREASES.
      • WHEELS AND AXELS ARE TURNING LEVERS.

 

  • PULLEYS
    • CAN BE USED TO INCREASE FORCE AND/OR CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE FORCE.
    • THE EFFORT NEEDED TO RAISE THE LOAD DEPENDS UPON THE NUMBER OF LINES OF SUPPORT THE PULLEY SYSTEM CONTAINS.

 

  • INCLINED PLANES
    • ARE FLAT SLOPING SURFACES OVER WHICH OBJECTS CAN BE PUSHED OR PULLED TO RAISE THEM TO A HIGHER LEVEL.
    • CAN BE USED TO RAISE OBJECTS WITH LESS FORCE THAN A STRAIGHT LIFT.
      • WEDGES ARE TWO INCLINED PLANES PLACED BACK TO BACK.
      • SCREWS ARE INCLINED PLANES THAT ARE WRAPPED AROUND A SHAFT.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Machine Quiz

 1.  A fork is an example of a: 

pulley      wedge      wheel and axle 

 

 2.  A roller skate is an example of a: 

wheel and axle      wedge      lever 

 

3.  A ramp is an example of a/an: 

pulley      screw      inclined plane 

 

4.  The bottom of a light bulb would be considered a: 

lever      screw      wedge 

 

5.  A seesaw on the playground is a:            

 lever      inclined plane      pulley 

 

6.  You would use a pulley to: 

 cut food    hold pieces of wood together help guide the sail on a sailboat 

 

  

 

 

 

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