A Little Background on Simple Machines - Try this!
Completion requirements
A Little Background on Simple Machines - Try this!
Try this!
Banana Lever
Materials
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banana
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ruler or flat wooden stick
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heavy book
Try to lift a heavy book from a table with just your pinkie finger. It is difficult, isn't it? Now, put a banana very close to the book, and place a ruler under the edge of the book and over the banana. Push down on the other end of the ruler with your pinkie. Is the book easier to lift with your pinkie now?
Simple Machines - How Do They Help?
Lifting the book felt easier when you used the banana and ruler, didn't it? Congratulations! You just built and used a simple machine! The banana was the pivot point for a lever. This banana lever made the job of lifting the book easier for you.
Lifting the book felt easier when you used the banana and ruler, didn't it? Congratulations! You just built and used a simple machine! The banana was the pivot point for a lever. This banana lever made the job of lifting the book easier for you.
Bolt cutter
This is a bolt cutter. A powerful simple machine is actually two levers joined in the middle. A bolt cutter increases the force of your hands many times—so much that it lets you cut through thick steel!
Another great thing about simple machines is that they can help us move things and ourselves more easily. Levers, rollers, wheels, axles, pulleys, gears, and ramps can help us move things from place to place.
This is a bolt cutter. A powerful simple machine is actually two levers joined in the middle. A bolt cutter increases the force of your hands many times—so much that it lets you cut through thick steel!
Another great thing about simple machines is that they can help us move things and ourselves more easily. Levers, rollers, wheels, axles, pulleys, gears, and ramps can help us move things from place to place.
Wheels, Rollers, and Axles
Skateboarding without wheels would be a real drag! Wheels, rollers, and axles allow people and things to roll across the ground.
Skateboarding without wheels would be a real drag! Wheels, rollers, and axles allow people and things to roll across the ground.
Levers
Opening a can of food without a lever would be difficult. Levers can increase force for us, but we will learn that they can help us move things faster, too.
Opening a can of food without a lever would be difficult. Levers can increase force for us, but we will learn that they can help us move things faster, too.
Ramps
Any time you need to move a heavy load to a higher place, a ramp can help. Lifting heavy things up or down can be very difficult, but using a ramp can make the job much easier.
Any time you need to move a heavy load to a higher place, a ramp can help. Lifting heavy things up or down can be very difficult, but using a ramp can make the job much easier.
Gears and Chains
Do you need to connect two axles? A great way to do it is with gears and chains. Gears have teeth so chains on them will hardly ever slip. That is why you see them connecting the pedals to the back wheel on so many bicycles. But you can also mesh gears directly together as you can see in the photograph. These can be used to make axles spin slower or faster.
Do you need to connect two axles? A great way to do it is with gears and chains. Gears have teeth so chains on them will hardly ever slip. That is why you see them connecting the pedals to the back wheel on so many bicycles. But you can also mesh gears directly together as you can see in the photograph. These can be used to make axles spin slower or faster.
Pulleys
A pulley is a special wheel and axle that supports a cable or belt that rolls over it. With a pulley, you can lift and move things, and you can change directions.
A pulley is a special wheel and axle that supports a cable or belt that rolls over it. With a pulley, you can lift and move things, and you can change directions.
This style of bicycle is known as a recumbent bicycle. It is an example of using several simple machines together to move easier and faster--—and with a lot more fun!