Simple Machines Basics
📋 What it is
Simple machines (lever, wheel, pulley, ramp, wedge, screw) make work easier by trading force for distance.
🗣️ Coach says
A simple machine doesn’t create energy — it makes work EASIER by changing how force is applied. The six classics are the lever, wheel-and-axle, pulley, inclined plane (ramp), wedge, and screw. The trick they all share: you push with LESS force, but over a LONGER distance. Nothing is free — you trade one for the other.
🧠 Memory hook
Simple machines make work easier by trading FORCE for DISTANCE. The six: lever · wheel · pulley · ramp · wedge · screw.
😂 Giggle
Why did the lever break up with the fulcrum?
It needed more support!
😲 Whoa!
The ancient Egyptians likely used ramps (inclined planes) to build the pyramids — trading a gentle long push for the impossible task of lifting massive stones straight up.
✅ Quick check: How does a simple machine make work "easier"?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
It lets you use less force, but over a longer distance — it trades force for distance, not free energy.
Machines trade force and distance; total work is unchanged.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Push a heavy book up a ramp vs lifting it straight up — the ramp needs less force (over more distance).