Real World Simple Machines By Professor D.M. Isaacson I

Lever rigid object and a fulcrum (or pivot) Applying a force to one end of the rigid object causes it to pivot about the fulcrum. Magnifies of the force at another point along the rigid object. Here the crane operator uses the levers of the machine to operate the much larger arm,

Wheel & Axle circular device that is attached to a rigid bar in its center. force applied to the wheel causes the axle to rotate, which can be used to magnify the force – For example, having a rope wind around the axle. force applied to provide rotation on the axle translates into rotation of the wheel – A lever that rotates around a center fulcrum… In the coreless impact drill, a ‘large’ gear is driven which rotates the axle-in this case, the chuck

Inclined Plane a plane surface set at an angle to another surface. do the same amount of work by applying the force over a longer distance. Because the ladder is a shorter distance, it is more difficult to climb, compare to a stairway with a much longer distance, much easier to climb.

Wedge a double-inclined plane that moves to exert a force along the lengths of the sides. The force is perpendicular to the inclined surfaces, so it pushes two objects (or pieces of a single object) apart. The splitting maul uses the basic concept of the wedge to split firewood much more easily than with a smaller axe.

Screw a shaft that has a in inclined groove along its surface. rotate the screw – the force is applied perpendicular to the groove, thus translating a rotational force into a linear one. The blades of the ice auger cut, as the auger portion draws the whole tool down into the ice.

Pulley a wheel with a groove along its edge, where a rope or cable can be placed. applies force over a longer distance, and also the tension in the rope or cable, to reduce the magnitude of the necessary force. The old-fashioned version of the wire stretcher utilized twp pulleys and a length of rope to greatly reduce the work involved with tightening a wire fence.