Which simple machine is it?
Look at how everyday tools and devices work, including a dhiki and a janto, and sort them into the six types of simple machine.
Core concept
In short: Sort tools into the six simple machines that make work easier.
Simple machines (lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, screw) make work easier by changing the size or direction of a force
Topic: Simple machines
A simple machine makes work easier by letting a smaller force: A push or a pull. Forces can start, stop or turn things. All key words move a load, or by changing the direction of the force. There are six kinds. A lever: A bar that turns on a fixed point to lift heavy loads with less effort, like a see-saw. All key words is a bar that turns about a pivot (fulcrum: The fixed point a lever turns on. All key words). A pulley is a wheel with a rope over it. A wheel and axle is a large wheel fixed to a smaller rod so they turn together. An inclined plane is a slope. A wedge is two slopes back to back that split or cut things. A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a rod.
What you will learn
- Name and describe the six simple machines.
- Identify the simple machine in everyday tools.
- Explain how each makes work easier.
Before you start
- Know that a force is a push or a pull.
Materials
- Pictures or real examples of the tools
Equipment
- None for the virtual lab
Procedure
- Choose a card and look at how the tool works: does it turn about a pivot, use a rope over a wheel, or use a slope?
- Place each card under the right simple machine.