SIMPLE MACHINES

AGENDA

 Day One
 Intro to Physics and Simple Machines

 Review Homework

 Levers, Wheel and Axle, Pulleys

 Day Two

 Review

 Inclined Plane, Wedge, Screw,

SIMPLE MACHINES
HOME WORK REVIEW
WHAT IS A SIMPLE MACHINE?
 A simple machine
has few or no moving
parts.
 Simple machines
make work easier
HISTORY OF WORK

Before engines and motors were invented, people

had to do things like lifting or pushing heavy loads by
hand. Using an animal could help, but what they really
needed were some clever ways to either make work
easier or faster.
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SIMPLE MACHINES

Ancient people invented simple

machines that would help them overcome
resistive forces and allow them to do the
desired work against those forces.

How Pyramids were built? 7

WHAT ARE SIMPLE MACHINES?
 Early examples that employed simple machines
Largest stones ever moved
Moving Large Stones
Standing up stones
How were the pyramids built?
Egypt and Mesopotania
New Theory on Pyramids Building
SIMPLE MACHINES

 The six simple machines are:

 Lever
 Wheel and Axle
 Pulley
 Inclined Plane
 Wedge
 Screw

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SIMPLE MACHINES
 A simple machine is a device that helps
make work easier to perform by
accomplishing one or more of the
following functions:
 transferring a force from one place to another,
 changing the direction of a force,
 increasing the magnitude of a force, or
 increasing the distance or speed of a force.

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MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE?
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE

 It is useful to think about a machine in

terms of the input force (the force you
apply) and the output force (force which is
applied to the task).
 When a machine takes a small input force
and increases the magnitude of the output
force, a mechanical advantage has been
produced.

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INPUT FORCE

OUTPUT FORCE

The farther away from the “Fulcrum” is moved from the “Input Force” the greater
the Mechanical Advantage is achieved.
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
 Mechanical advantage is the ratio of output force divided
by input force. If the output force is bigger than the input
force, a machine has a mechanical advantage greater than
one.
 If a machine increases an input force of 10 pounds to an
output force of 100 pounds, the machine has a
mechanical advantage (MA) of 10.
 In machines that increase distance instead of force, the
MA is the ratio of the output distance and input distance.
 MA = output/input

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INPUT FORCE

OUTPUT FORCE

10 lbs

100 lbs

MA = OUTPUT / INPUT

100 ÷ 10 = MA OF 10
SIMPLE MACHINES

 Simple Machines can

be put together in
different ways to
make complex
machinery
WORK AND SIMPLE
MACHINES

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WHAT IS WORK?

 In science, the word work has a different

meaning than you may be familiar with.
 The scientific definition of work is: using a
force to move an object a distance (when
both the force and the motion of the
object are in the same direction.)
 The Force must have cause the object to
move, otherwise no work was done.

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WORK OR NOT?

 According to the
scientific definition,
what is work and
what is not?
 a teacher lecturing to
her class
 workers pushing a
block of stone up and
inclined plane

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WHAT’S WORK?

Motion

Force

The workers are using a force to move the

block of stone a distance. Both the force
and the motion are in the same direction
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WHAT’S WORK?
 A scientist delivers a speech to an
audience of his peers.
 A body builder lifts 350 pounds above
his head.
 A mother carries her baby from room to
room.
 A father pushes a baby in a carriage.
 A woman carries a 20 kg grocery bag to
her car?
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WHAT’S WORK?
 A scientist delivers a speech to an audience of
his peers.
 NO
 A body builder lifts 350 pounds above his head.
 Yes
 A mother carries her baby from room to room.
 No
 A mother pushes a baby in a carriage.
 Yes
 A man carries a 20 km grocery bag to his car?
 No

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A STUDENT CARRYING A BOOK DOES NO WORK
ON THE BOOK BECAUSE THE FORCE AND
MOTION ARE NOT IN THE SAME DIRECTION
FORMULA FOR WORK

Work = Force x Distance

 The unit of force is newtons

 The unit of distance is meters

 The unit of work is newton-meters

 One newton-meter is equal to one joule

 So, the unit of work is a joule

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W=FD

Work = Force x
Distance

Calculate: If a man
pushes a concrete
block 10 meters
with a force of 20
N, how much work
has he done?

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W=FD

Work = Force x
Distance

Calculate: If a man
pushes a concrete
block 10 meters
with a force of 20
N, how much work
has he done? 200
joules
(W = 20N x 10m)
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ANY TIME A MASS IS LIFTED UPWARD,
WORK IS DONE.

Distance = 5 Meters

WORK = (80 n)(5 m) = 400 J

Force = 80 Newtons
POWER
 Power is the rate at which work is done.

 Power = Work*/Time
*(force x distance)

 The unit of power is the watt.

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POWER = WORK*/TIME

WORK POWER
(80 n)(100 m) = 8000 JOULES 8000J/40S= 200Watts

Distance is 100 Meters

Time is 40 Seconds
FORMULAS FOR SIMPLE MACHINES

 Mechanical Advantage – is a ratio of out put to

input
 Work – Force X Distance, Measured in joules

 Power – Work / Time, Measured in Watts

ARCHIMEDES LEVER

GIVE ME A PLACE TO STAND AND I WILL MOVE THE EARTH

THE LEVER

 A lever is a rigid bar that

rotates around a fixed
point called the fulcrum.
 The bar may be either
straight or curved.
 In use, a lever has both
an effort (or applied)
force and a load
(resistant force).

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THE 3 CLASSES OF LEVERS

 The class of a lever is

determined by the
location of the effort
force and the load
relative to the
fulcrum.

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LEVERS-FIRST CLASS

 In a first class lever

the fulcrum is in the
middle and the load
and effort is on either
side
 Think of a see-saw
LEVERS-SECOND CLASS

 In a second class
lever the fulcrum is at
the end, with the load
in the middle
 Think of a
wheelbarrow
LEVERS-THIRD CLASS

 In a third class lever

the fulcrum is again
at the end, but the
effort is in the middle
 Think of a pair of
tweezers
WHEELS AND AXLES

 The wheel and axle

are a simple machine
 The axle is a rod that
goes through the
wheel which allows
the wheel to turn
 Gears are a form of
wheels and axles
WHEEL AND AXLE
WHEEL AND AXLE
WHEEL AND AXLE

 A wheel and axle has a larger wheel (or wheels)

connected by a smaller cylinder (axle) and is
fastened to the wheel so that they turn
together. When the axle is turned, the wheel
moves a greater distance than the axle, but
less force is needed to move it. The axle moves
a shorter distance, but it takes greater force to
move it.
Examples: Door Knob, Wagon, Toy Car
PULLEYS

 Pulley are wheels and

axles with a groove
around the outside
 A pulley needs a
rope, chain or belt
around the groove to
make it do work
PULLEYS

 A pulley is a rope, belt, or chain wrapped

around a grooved wheel. Pulleys can be fixed or
moveable. The pulley is actually a variation of
another simple machine...the lever. A pulley is a
circular lever that rotates around its fulcrum.
PULLEYS
 A pulley that is attached to a structure is called
a fixed pulley. The wheel of a fixed pulley turns,
but the pulley itself does not move.
 A fixed pulley does not multiply the effort force.
The distance you apply the effort is the same
as the distance the load moves.
 A fixed pulley changes the direction of effort.
When you pull down on the rope, the load
moves up.
 Pulling down is easier than pulling up because
you use your body weight when pulling down.
FIXED PULLEYS
PULLEYS
 A moveable pulley is attached to the object you are moving.
 One end of the rope is attached to a fixed structure
overhead. The other end of the rope goes down through the
pulley attached to the load and then back up to the top.
 Pulling on the other end of the rope causes the load to move
up.
 The moveable pulley offers a mechanical advantage even
though it does not change the direction of effort.
 The load is supported by rope on both sides of the pulley,
which means that half as much effort is needed to lift the
load.
 You must exert effort twice as far as the load moves. The
force needed to move an object is less, but the distance
through which the force must move is longer.

MOVEABLE PULLEYS
MA IS EQUAL TO NUMBER OF ROPES
SUPPORTING THE MOVABLE PULLEY
MA OF 1 MA OF 2 MA OF 3 MA OF 4

SINGLE FIXED SINGLE MOVABLE

DAY TWO

*Review Day 1
*Inclined Plane
*Wedges
*Screws
*Gears
*Class Activity
*Review Day 2
REVIEW OF DAY ONE MATERIALS
SIMPLE MACHINES, WORK, FORCE, ENERGY &
NEWTON'S THREE LAWS OF MOTION

1. What is a Simple Machine?

1. A simple machine is any device that transmits the

application of a force into useful work.
2. SIMPLE MACHINES help us make better use of our
muscle power to do WORK.
3. A Machine produces FORCE and controls the
direction of Force, it cannot create ENERGY.
WHAT IS MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE?
INPUT FORCE MA = OUTPUT / INPUT

100 ÷ 10 = MA OF 10

OUTPUT FORCE

10 lbs

100 lbs

Mechanical advantage is the ratio of output force

divided by input force. If the output force is bigger
than the input force, a machine has a mechanical
advantage greater than one.
WHAT IS WORK?

 In science, the word work has a different

meaning than you may be familiar with.
 The scientific definition of work is: using a
force to move an object a distance (when
both the force and the motion of the
object are in the same direction.)
 The Force must have caused the object to
move, otherwise no work was done.

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FORMULA FOR WORK

Work = Force x Distance

 The unit of force is newtons

 The unit of distance is meters

 The unit of work is newton-meters

 One newton-meter is equal to one joule

 So, the unit of work is a joule

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WHAT IS POWER?
 Power is the rate at which work is done.

 Power = Work*/Time
*(force x distance)

 The unit of power is the watt.

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POWER = WORK*/TIME

WORK POWER
(80 n)(100 m) = 8000 JOULES 8000J/40S= 200Watts

Distance is 100 Meters

Time is 40 Seconds
 INCLINED PLANES

 An inclined plane is a flat

surface that is higher on
one end
 Inclined planes make the
work of moving things
easier

 How were the Pyramids

built?
INCLINED PLANE & FRICTION
 Friction is opposition to motion, so if nothing is
trying to move there will be no friction. However,
friction will be present when motion is
attempted, even if the object is not yet moving.
 There are two different types of friction: static,
which acts before the object begins to move,
and dynamic, which acts after the object begins
moving.
 Static friction is usually stronger than dynamic
friction.
INCLINED PLANE
INCLINED PLANE

 . An inclined plane is a flat surface set at an

angle (other than a right angle) against a
horizontal surface.

 An inclined plane is a simple machine with no

moving parts. It is simply a straight slanted
surface.
INCLINED PLANE
 The inclined plane permits you to overcome a large
resistance by applying a relatively small force
through a longer distance than the load is to be
raised.
 The steeper the slant, the more work it takes to go
up the inclined plane.
 As the slant of an inclined plane decreases, the
mechanical advantage increases. It takes less
force to raise the object, but the object must move
through a longer distance
INCLINED PLANE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE

To find the MA of an inclined plane, divide its length by its height.

MA = length / height
600/100 = 6 MA

600 METERS
LENGTH

100 METERS
HEIGHT
 INCLINED PLANE WORK
To find the WORK of an inclined plane, WORK = Force X Distance

600/100 = 6 MA 50n X 600m = 30,000 Joules

600 METERS
LENGTH

100 METERS
HEIGHT
WEDGES

 Two inclined
planes joined
back to back.
 Wedges are used
to split things.
 WEDGES
 A wedge uses force to come between two things. A wedge
is used for three different types of work: connecting (the
nail), splitting (the ax), and tightening (the doorstop.)

 One end of the wedge tapers to a thin edge and the other
end is wide. The longer and thinner a wedge is, the less
effort is needed to overcome the resistance force. A very
sharp knife requires less effort to cut through a potato
because it's blade has been made thinner by sharpening.
Try hammering a very thin nail into a block of wood and
then try hammering a thick nail into the same block of
wood. Which was easier? The thin nail is easier to hammer
into the wood because the point of the nail (the wedge) is
thinner.
WEDGES
SCREWS

 A screw is an
inclined plane
wrapped around a
shaft or cylinder.
 The inclined plane
allows the screw
to move itself
when rotated.
SCREW
SCREW
 Screws are designed to change the direction of
effort.
 The screw's threads move objects up or down as
the screw turns.
 When you turn a screw into a piece of wood in a
circle with a screwdriver the screw goes down into
the wood.
 Circular motion is turned into forward motion. This
is how a fan creates a current of air to cool you off
on a hot day. The blades of your fan are also a type
of screw.
GEARS
SPUR GEARS
HELICAL GEARS
BEVEL GEARS
WORM GEAR
GEAR RATIO
Count the gear teeth to determine exact gear ratios - you just count the number of
teeth in the two gears and divide. So if one gear has 60 teeth and another has 20,
the gear ratio when these two gears are connected together is 3:1.
GEAR ROTATION

When two gears of unequal number of teeth are combined a mechanical advantage is
produced, with both the rotational speeds and the torques of the two gears differing in a
simple relationship.
MULTI GEAR ROTATION
REVIEW

 Class activity – In groups find examples of class

I, II, and III levers

 Research how to find the MA of an inclined

plane that is 100 meters (L) x 20 meters (H)

 Complete the Simple Machines Work Sheet

POWER = WORK*/TIME
WORK POWER
(60 n)(200 m) = 12000 JOULES 12000J/80S= 150 Watts

MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
200/25=8 MA

HEIGHT IS 25 M

Distance is 200 Meters

Time is 80 Seconds
 A B

Gear “B” is rotating

“counter clock” wise