UD2: SIMPLE

MACHINES
TECHNOLOGY 3RD OF ESO
SIMPLE MACHINE
■ Tools that make work easier
■ Give us an advantage by changing the amount, speed or
direction of forces
■ Allow us to use a smaller force to overcome a larger force
TYPES OF SIMPLE MACHINES
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (I)
■ Mechanical advantage tells us how many times we multiply
our force when using a simple machine.
MA = Foutput / Finput

■ The amount of work produced by a machine is always the

same as the amount of work put into de machine
Finput · dinput = Foutput · doutput
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (II)
■ When a machine produces an increase in force, there is always
a proportional decrease in the distance moved.
■ When a machine produces an increase in distance, there is
always a proportional decrease in force

MA = Foutput / Finput = dinput / doutput

LEVER (I)
■ The LEVER is a rigid bar resting on a pivot

FLoad · dLoad = FEffort · dEffort

LEVER (II)
■ Levers are divided into three classes depending on the position
of the effort €, resistance (R), and fulcrum (F).
LEVER (III)
■ First Class Levers
– Fulcrum is between Load and Effort
– The lever changes the direction of force
– The force is multipled, but you need to aply it over a large
distance
LEVER (IV)
■ Second Class Levers
– Load is between the Fulcrum and the Effort
– The Load is moved in the same direction as the Effort
LEVER (V)
■ Third Class Levers
– Effort is between the Fulcrum and the Load
– The MA is less than 1, so the Effort has to be greather than the
Load
INCLINED PLANE (I)
■ An inclined plane is a simple machine that is a flat surface with one end
higher than the other.
■ An inclined plane helps you move loads.

■ When an object is moved up an inclined plane, less effort is needed than if

you were to lift is straight up, but you must move the object over a greater
distance.
INCLINED PLANE (II)

■ MA = Weight / Input Force

■ MA = Slope (S) / Height (H)

■ Input Force · Slope = Weight · Height

PULLEYS (I)

■ The pulley is a simple machine made of a wheel with a

rope or belt wrapped around it.
■ It is used to lift things up: when you pull down on one
end of the rope, the other end moves upward.
■ A pulley can help move an object to a place that is hard
to reach.
■ A pulley makes work seem easier because it changes the
direction of motion to work with gravity.
PULLEYS (II)
■ As you increase the number of pulleys, you also
increase the distance you have to pull the rope, but you
decrease the effort.
■ The mechanical advantage of a pulley system is
approximately equal to the amount of supporting ropes
or strands.
PULLEYS: Single Fixed Pulleys

■ A single fixed pulley acts like a lever with equal

arms.

■ It changes only the direction of the input force .

■ When the person pulls down on the rope, the load is

lifted up.

■ In this case, MA=1. The pulley does not multiply the

input force.
PULLEYS: Compound Pulleys

■ To calculate the MA of a pulley system you

just have to count the number of strands of
rope that directly support the load.

■ In this case, MA=2

■ Not only does this pulley change the

direction of the force, but it also multiplies
it.
PULLEYS: Compound Pulleys
PULLEYS: Some examples
PULLEYS: Some examples