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The document provides information about simple machines. It describes the six basic simple machines: the lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, and screw. Each machine is defined and examples are given of how it is used. The lever helps move objects with less force, the wheel and axle allow things to move more easily, and the inclined plane lowers the force needed to move an object vertically by increasing the distance of travel.

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89 views11 pages

Submitted By: Janve M. Bungay

The document provides information about simple machines. It describes the six basic simple machines: the lever, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, and screw. Each machine is defined and examples are given of how it is used. The lever helps move objects with less force, the wheel and axle allow things to move more easily, and the inclined plane lowers the force needed to move an object vertically by increasing the distance of travel.

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Submitted by:

JANVE M. BUNGAY

Submitted to:
MRS. JOSEPHINE GARCIA

Simple Machines: Facts

Once upon a time a person needed to move something heavy. He or she picked up a long stick
and stuck it under the edge of the heavy object and then pushed down on the other end of the
stick. And the first simple machine was invented. Simple machines are just that. The simplest
form of using one thing to accomplish something faster or better. A tool. They were the first ones
created and we still use them today.
There are 6 basic simple machines; the lever, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge,
the pulley, and the screw. Several of these simple machines are related to each other. But, each
has a specific purpose in the world of doing work.
But what is work? Work is the amount of energy necessary to move an object. The further you
move it, the more work is required. Work is measured in Newtons. More about that later. First
let's look at each of the 6 simple machines in detail.

The Lever

The lever is a long tool such as a pole or a rod put under an object to lift it. The lever is more
efficient when combined with a fulcrum. The fulcrum is another object, perhaps a rock, used to
brace under the long tool. This gives the long pole something to push down against. The location
of the fulcrum helps determine how well the lever will perform work. The closer the fulcrum is
to the object being lifted, the higher the person can lift the object. The longer the lever, the higher
the object can be lifted. Do the math it's really all in the distance between the object, the
fulcrum and the lever.
Levers are all around us. Some examples of levers are: door handles, the claws of a hammer (for
removing nails), crowbars, light switches, bottle openers and hinges.

The Wheel & Axle

The wheel has always been considered a major invention in the history of mankind. But it really
would not work as well as it does had it not been for the axle. An axle is a rod or pole centered in
the wheel that allows the wheel to turn around it. The wheel then spins in a balanced circle to be
used as transportation on a bike or to turn the hands of a clock. Gears are a form of the wheel and
axle.
Wheels are found where things turn in a circle such as an electric fan, a motor, a revolving door,
a merry go round, and any wheel on the car, on your skateboard, or on a bicycle.

The Wedge

Some people might see the wedge as just an inclined plane,


although it is actually two inclined planes. However, the use
of a wedge is actually different in nature. The wedge is used
to separate an object apart. This is needed to cut, tear or break
something in two. A wedge can also be used to keep things
together or secure things from movement. Some examples of
wedges that are used for
separating might be a
shovel, a knife, an axe, a
pick axe, a saw, a needle,
scissors, or an ice pick. But
wedges can also hold things
together as in the case of a staple, push pins, tack, nail,
doorstop, or a shim.

The Pulley

down or back
and lower
or on cranes
Elevators also
floor to floor.

The pulley is actually a version of a wheel and


axle that is combined with a rope, chain or other
cord to allow moving something up and down or
back and forth. The pulley can be combined with
other pulleys to reduce the amount of work
necessary to lift huge amounts of weight or to
lower them down. It can also make moving
something such as a flag up the pole convenient
to do from the ground. It changes the direction of
the force necessary to do the work. I pull down on
the rope, but the flag goes up. Pulleys are used in
window blinds and drapery to move them up and
and forth. Pulleys are also used on ships to raise
sails, in industry to raise and lower heavy cargo,
for use in moving construction equipment.
use pulleys to move the car up and down from

The Screw
The screw is really a twisted inclined plane. It allows movement from a lower position to a
higher position but at the same time it moves it in a circle. That makes it take up less horizontal
space. A screw can also act to hold things together in some cases.
Some examples of the uses of a screw are in a jar lid, a drill, a bolt, a light bulb, faucets, bottle
caps and ball point pens. Circular stairways are also a form of a screw.
Another use of the screw is in a device known as a screw pump. A huge screw shape is lowered
into the water and by turning the screw the water is moved up the twisted shaft and lifted to
where it is needed. Screw pumps are often used in agricultural settings such as farms and for
irrigation.

INCLINED PLANE

An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle, with one
end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one
of the six classical simple machines defined by Renaissance scientists. Inclined planes are widely
used to move heavy loads over vertical obstacles; examples vary from a ramp used to load goods
into a truck, to a person walking up a pedestrian ramp, to an automobile or railroad train
climbing a grade.
Moving an object up an inclined plane requires less force than lifting it straight up, at a cost of an
increase in the distance moved. The mechanical advantage of an inclined plane, the factor by
which the force is reduced, is equal to the ratio of the length of the sloped surface to the height it
spans. Due to conservation of energy, the same amount of mechanical energy (work) is required
to lift a given object by a given vertical distance, disregarding losses from friction, but the
inclined plane allows the same work to be done with a smaller force exerted over a greater
distance.

TYPE OF SIMPLE MACHINES


Wedge
Helps to cut or split things

scissors blades, ax, hoe

Levers
Helps move things with less force
shovel, seesaw, baseball bat, pulling end of a hammer
Wheels and Axle Used to move things more easily from one place to another

wagon wheel, bike wheel, car wheel, wheel barrel wheel

SCREW
Holds things together; used for lifting

screw, neck of a light bulb, corkscrew

INCLINED PLANE
Used to move things from a low place to a high place or vice versa

ramp, step, ladder

PULLEYS
Used to lift loads more easily

rig on flagpole, sailing mast, elevator

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