Unit 5: Primary Physics

14 Simple Machines

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge to be gained : • Force and work • Machines • Types of machines
Skill to be developed : • Using simple machines to make work easier to do.
A tude to be inculcated : • Maximum output with minimum effort.

FORCE AND WORK

In science, work is de ned as a force acting on an object to move it across a distance.
Pushing, pulling and lifting are common forms of work.

Pushing Pulling Lifting

Furniture movers do work when they move furniture. Gardeners do work when they pull
weeds. To do all these jobs, we either push things or pull them. When we push or pull an
object, we apply ‘force’ on it. So, we can say that force is needed to do work.
Force in simple word means a push or a pull. While the amount of work done is the product
of the amount of force applied to an object and the distance it moves.

Work = Amount of force x Distance moved

MACHINES
A machine is any object that helps us to do work with less effort. Children do work when they
go up and down on a see-saw. Some simple machines are used to make our work easier.
Labourers use a ramp to slide boxes into a truck. Children use a see-saw to go up and down.
e ramp and the see-saw are examples of simple machines.
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If you have to shift a small object from one place to another, it is possible with little effort,
but if a large object needs to be moved, it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.
To make our work easy, we use machines. A device used to make our work easier is called a
machine.

TYPES OF MACHINES
ere are two types of machines: Simple machines and compound machines.

Machines

Simple Compound
Machines Machines

Inclined Wedge Screw Lever Wheel Pulley

plane & Axle

First Class Second Class Third Class

Lever Lever Lever

1. Simple Machines
A machine that has only one or two parts is called a simple machine.
Simple machines are simple tools used to make work easier. ere are six types of simple
machines. ey are: inclined plane, wedge, screw, lever, pulley, and wheel and axle.
Let’s have a look at the given simple machines:
(i) Inclined plane
An inclined plane is a slope. It helps to move a heavy load with lesser effort. Can you think
of a slide in the playground that is shaped like an inclined plane?

Ramp in a hospital Loading of cars Roads in mountains

using an inclined plane are built at an incline

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 An inclined plane reduces the amount of force
that you have to apply to move something.
Inclined planes called ramps, are provided in all
hospitals. ey are used to push up wheelchairs
and stretchers, for carrying patients. What do Load
Force
you think will happen if hospitals do not have Inclined plane (Gravity)
ramps?
Have you ever seen new cars being loaded on trucks? e cars are loaded using an inclined
plane.
Roads in hilly regions are also inclined planes. ey have a gentle slope. is makes it easier
for vehicles to move up.
(ii) Wedge
A wedge is a piece of wood or metal shaped like a triangle and has a sharp edge. A wedge can
be made by putting two inclined planes together to form a triangular shape. For example, an
axe or a knife is a wedge.
A wedge generally has a thick edge and a sharp edge. e sharp edge of a wedge is used to
split or cut an object.

Inclined plane

Wedge
(iii) Screw
A screw is like a nail with an inclined plane wrapped around it. It is a simple
machine that is used to hold things together. All of you must have seen a
screw. A screw is a hard metal (iron or steel) rod having well cut spiral threads
on its surface. A screw is preferred by carpenters as compared to an ordinary
nail. Can you tell why? It is because the threads of a screw grip the wood more
rmly and so it does not come out easily.
A screw-jack is a machine having a screw and a lever. It is used to lift heavy
objects such as cars or trucks. Screw nail

Activity 1
Cut a piece of paper in the form of a right angled
triangle. Its slan ng side is an inclined plane. Colour
this surface. Now wrap this paper around a pencil as
shown in the figure. Compare it with a screw.

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(iv) Lever
You must have seen people opening a soft drink bottle using a bottle opener. e bottle
opener is an example of a lever.
Try pulling a really stubborn weed out of the ground. You know that to pull out a deep,
persistent weed that seems to have taken over your owerbed, using just your bare hands
might be difficult or sometimes even painful. But with a tool like a hand shovel, you should
win the battle. Any tool that pries something loose is a lever. A lever is a simple machine
made up of a rm bar that can move freely around a xed point. e xed point is called the
fulcrum and the object that is being moved is called the load. A lever is an arm that pivots
(or turns) against a fulcrum (or point).
All levers have three parts:
Fulcrum
Ÿ Load (L): Object to be lifted or moved is
called the load.
Ÿ Fulcrum (F): e point of support on the
lever that does not move is called the
fulcrum.
Ÿ Effort (E): A push or pull that moves the Load Effort
lever or the force applied is called the effort. Lever
e lever has been used by human beings for thousand of years.

Types (classes) of lever

Based on the positions of fulcrum, load and the effort, levers have been classi ed into three
types:
(a) First class levers (L-F-E)
Fulcrum
Look at these pictures. In all these, the Fulcrum
fulcrum is in the middle. e load is at one
Load
end and effort is applied at the other end. All
these are rst class levers. A lever in which Effort

the fulcrum lies between the load and the

effort is called a rst class lever.
Load

Load (b) Second class levers (F-L-E)

A lever in which the load lies between the
fulcrum and the effort is called a second
Effort class lever. A wheel borrow is an example
of a second class levers.
Fulcrum
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 (c) ird class levers (F-E-L)
In a third class lever, the fulcrum and the load are at
the two ends and the effort is applied in the middle. A
Effort
shing rod is an example of a third class lever.
Load
Your arm is also a kind of lever. What kind of lever is it? Fulcrum

Effort Load Load Effort Effort Load

Fulcrum Fulcrum Fulcrum

First Class Lever Second Class Lever Third Class Lever

(v) Wheel and Axle

Wheel
Load
Axle e rotation of the lever against a point allows
an object to loosen. at rotatory motion can
also do other kinds of work. Another kind of
lever, the wheel and axle, moves objects across
distances. In general, any wheel, like things with
Force
a rod attached to it, is called a wheel and axle
arrangement. is arrangement consists of a
xed wheel and an axle.

For example, in a toy car, the wheels of

Axle
the vehicle have an axle attached to
them. When the axle is turned with great
force, it also turns the wheel. Wheel

Another example of this arrangement is the

screw driver. In the screw driver, the thick
handle is the wheel. e thin rod with the
sharp edge is the axle. Here we turn the
wheel, which turns the axle in turn.
Screw driver
(vi) Pulley
A pulley is a wheel with a groove around its outer edge. is groove is for a rope or a chain to
move around the pulley. Pulling on the rope from one side lifts the object attached to the
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other side. When we pull the load up, we work against gravity, and it requires more effort
than when we release the load downwards.
A pulley is used to draw water from a well. e pulley is xed to a support. ere is a rope over
the pulley. e bucket is attached to one end of the rope. Effort is applied at the other end to
pull up the bucket.
A pulley is also used to lift heavy engines and t them into vehicles. Flags are also hoisted on
a agpole using a pulley.
A pulley consists of a wheel that is free to rotate about an axle passing through its centre.

Pulley
Axle
Effort

Load

A pulley A pulley is used to lift objects

2. Compound Machines
If two or more simple machines work together as one, they form a compound machine.
Most of the machines we use today are compound machines, created by combining several
simple machines. Scooter, car, washing machine, mixer-grinder, train, ship are some
examples of compound machines.

CHECK YOURSELF
Tick (3) the correct answer:
1. To move an object we need ________________.
(a) truck (b) money (c) force
2. The object to be lifted by a lever is called the ________________.
(a) load (b) effort (c) fulcrum
3. A V-shaped simple machine is called ________________.
(a) a screw (b) a wedge (c) an axle

New words
Pulley : a piece of equipment, consis ng of a wheel and a rope that is used for li ing heavy things

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 SUMMARY
v Force is needed to do work.
v A device used to make work easier is called a machine.
v Inclined planes called ramps are provided in all hospitals.
v A screw is a nail with an inclined plane wrapped around it.
v The lever has been used by human beings for thousands of years.
v A pulley is a wheel with a groove around its outer edge.

Exercise
A. Give two examples of each:
1. Lever (i) ________________ (ii) ________________
2. Screw (i) ________________ (ii) ________________
3. Wedge (i) ________________ (ii) ________________
4. Inclined plane (i) ________________ (ii) ________________
B. Answer the following questions:
1. What is the relation between work and force?
2. When is a work said to be done?
C. Fill in the blanks:
1. In a lever of second order, ________________ lies in the centre.
2. A push or a pull applied on an object is called ________________.
3. A road up the hill is an ________________.
4. A ________________ is a rm bar that can move freely around a xed point.
5. Any tool having a sharp edge and a blunt edge is known as a __________.
D. Answer the following questions in your own words:
1. What are simple machines? How are they useful?
2. On what basis are levers classi ed? Give two examples.
3. What are inclined planes? Give an example of it.
4. Why does a screw join two pieces of wood better than a nail?
5. How does a small wedge help split a big log of wood?
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 Activity Time
A. Make a list of simple machines you see at home and in school.
B. A trolley is an object with wheels that we use to transport heavy things, such as
luggage. Nowadays, most of the suitcases have wheels attached to them. ey are
called trolley bags. You can carry it or pull it with a handle.
Take a trolley bag. Try to lift it and carry it some distance. Can you do it? Do you nd it
heavy? Now use the handle to pull the bag. Do you nd it easier to carry? You nd it
easy to carry because now it acts like a wheel and axle arrangement.

Let Us Visit
You must have seen someone changing a at tyre
of a car, bus or a truck. Have you ever wondered
how a single man can lift such a heavy vehicle?

Visit a car garage with your father. See how a car is

lifted to change a at tyre. A car is lifted with the
help of a simple machine called a jackscrew, or
screw jack or simply a jack. Observe how it is
operated by turning a lead-screw.

Be a young
Researcher
Every household is full of simple machines. Knowingly or unknowingly, we use simple
machines from morning to night.
Given below is a table containing a list of simple machines and a common household item
as its example. Find more examples and complete the table.

Types of simple machines Examples Few more examples

Lever Kitchen knife
Wedge Needle
Screw Light bulb
Wheel and axle Screwdriver
Inclined plane Ladder
Pulley Window blind

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 Subject Link : English
Just like we have simple and complex machines, similarly there are simple, compound
and complex sentences in English.
Ÿ A simple sentence has one complete thought. Example: e boy ran to the store.
Ÿ A compound sentence has two complete thoughts joined with a comma and a
conjunction. Example: e boy ran to the store, and his sister stayed home.
Ÿ A complex sentence has one compete thought plus a dependent clause. Example: e
boy ran to the store where he bought milk.

Label each sentence as simple, compound, or complex.

1. e little girl has three dogs. ______________

2. Skippy eats grass, and he runs around all day. ______________

3. Skippy plays more than any of the other dogs because
he has the most energy. ______________

4. Lazybones hates playing. ______________

5. She sleeps in her bed, and she relaxes in the Sun. ______________

6. She loves to sit. ______________

FOOTNOTE
The objective of this lesson is to familiarise the students with the different types of simple machines and how they make
our work easier and faster.
Give more examples of the five kinds of machines discussed in this lesson. Ask the children to add to the list.

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