Background Information

1. This is a short explanation of many simple machines

2. Resource chart of uses and examples for the six simple machines

Additional Websites

The following websites have something to do with all simple machines but did not fit well under the individual machines.

1. This is an adorable song about simple machines.-- Song

2. Look at gadget anatomy. Project about gadget anatomy.

3. This is an extensive document that goes through higher level questions about work, energy, and simple machines.

4. This is an extensive Unit. The premise is that the students must move an animal at the zoo. (Grades 4-6)

5. Leonardo daVinci- scientist, artist, and inventor is used as a resource for looking at simple machines. This website goes in man directions but is worth seeing.

6. Daily log of using simple machines.

Often Cited

Franklin Institute Online

Inventor's Toolbox

Marvelous Machines
 

Levers

Background Information

       Encarta Online- Lever
 

Encarta-

Lever, simple machine consisting of a rigid bar that rotates about a fixed point, called a fulcrum. Levers affect the effort, or force, needed to do a certain amount of work, and are used to lift heavy objects. To move an object with a lever, force is applied to one end of the lever, and the object to be moved (referred to as the resistance or load) is usually located at the other end of the lever, with the fulcrum somewhere between the two. By varying the distances between the force and the fulcrum and between the load and the fulcrum, the amount of effort needed to move the load can be decreased, making the job easier.
 

Three Classes of Levers
 

Examples of Levers
 

Seesaw	Pry Bar	Pump Handle	Nutcraker

Marvelous Machines- Levers 1

Marvelous Machines- Levers 2

Marvelous Machines- Levers at Home
 

Franklin Institute Science Museum- Lever
 

See-Saw Physics
 

 

Pulleys

Background Information
 

Pulley, simple machine used to lift objects. A pulley consists of a grooved wheel or disk within a housing, and a rope or cable threaded around the disk. The disk of the pulley rotates as the rope or cable moves over it. Pulleys are used for lifting by attaching one end of the rope to the object, threading the rope through the pulley (or system of pulleys), and pulling on the other end of the rope.
 

Marvelous Machines- Pulleys 1

Marvelous Machines- Pulleys 2
 

Pulleys Unit Lesson
 

 

	Inclined Plane
	Wedge
	Screw

Background Information

Inclined Plane
A plane is a flat surface. For example, a smooth board is a plane. Now, if the plane is lying flat on the ground, it isn't likely to help you do work. However, when that plane is inclined, or slanted, it can help you move objects across distances. And, that's work! A common inclined plane is a ramp. Lifting a heavy box onto a loading dock is much easier if you slide the box up a ramp--a simple machine. Want to know more? Here's extra information.

Franklin Institute Online
 
 

Wedge
Instead of using the smooth side of the inclined plane, you can also use the pointed edges to do other kinds of work. For example, you can use the edge to push things apart. Then, the inclined plane is a wedge. So, a wedge is actually a kind of inclined plane. An axeblade is a wedge. Think of the edge of the blade. It's the edge of a smooth slanted surface. That's a wedge! Want to know more? Here's extra information.

Franklin Institute Online

Screw
Now, take an inclined plane and wrap it around a cylinder. Its sharp edge becomes another simple tool: the screw. Put a metal screw beside a ramp and it's kind of hard to see the similarities, but the screw is actually just another kind of inclined plane. Try this demonstration to help you visualize. How does the screw help you do work? Every turn of a metal screw helps you move a piece of metal through a wooden space. And, that's how we build things! Want to know more? Here's extra information
 

Franklin Institute Online
 

Examples
 

Inclined Plane	Wedge	Screw
slide	door stop	corkscrew slide
ramp	chisel	drill bit

Lessons

1. Does an incline really make lifting easier?

2. Using wedges to move blocks

3. How is an incline plane like a screw?
 

 

Wheel and Axle

Background Information

From Online Museum Educators: Wheel and Axle

A wheel and axle is a simple machine made up of two circular objects of different size. The axle (a small wheel) is attached to the center of a larger wheel. All wheels need an axle. The wheel and axle must move together to be a simple machine. A wheel and axle lifts or moves loads.Effort applied to the wheel turns the axle, or effort applied to the axle turns the wheel. They move together. When effort is applied to the wheel, the wheel and axle spreads the force over a greater distance. If the radius of the wheel is two times larger than the radius of the axle, every time you turn the wheel once, the force will be multiplied by two. A wheel and axle can produce a gain in either effort or distance, depending on how it is used.Examples 

Door Knob	Roller Blades	Gears

1. Finding wheels

2. Creating pinwheels

3. Understanding the wheel and axle