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Simple Machine Scavenger Hunt

MATERIALS:

• Camera/phone • Paper • Printer or crayons/markers • Scissors

Work is the force or effort required to set or keep an object (load) in motion or change its direction of movement. Work transfers energy through motion. People are constantly trying to think of ways to make work easier, especially when it involves a lot of muscle power and sweat. Simple machines make work easier by reducing the amount of work needed to push, pull, or lift heavy objects. There are 6 basic types of simple machines: Lever, Wheel & Axle, Inclined Plane, Wedge, Screw, and Pulley.

INSTRUCTIONS:Take a walk around your house and look for as many simple machines as you can find. Look in the kitchen, bedroom, garage, basement, and the shed. Look very closely because they are all over the place. Either take pictures, print them out, and make a collage or use paper and markers or crayons to make a poster.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT:Lever -consists of some type of bar and a fulcrum that works as a pivot point. The longer the bar, the less amount of work needed.

Wheel & Axle – consists of a roller wheel attached to a stiff bar (axle).

Inclined Plane – a stationary surface raised so that 1 end is higher than the other. An inclined plane increases the distance but reduces the amount of work needed to move an object (load).

fulcrum

load

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© hand2mind, Inc. hand2mind.comS3-5-13

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THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT (CONTINUED): Wedge – a triangular shaped item used to pry 2 things (or parts of the same thing) apart. A knife is a good example of a wedge. It is a very thin wedge used to slice bread, cut cheese, etc.

Screw – if you look closely, you will see that the threads of a screw are basically an inclined plane that winds around a central rod. When you apply pressure down on the screw and twist, the rotational force draws the inclined plane into the wood or other material you are connecting to.

Pulley – a wheel that has a groove in it and turns on an axle.

In and around the house examples of each:

• Wedges: _____________________________________________________

• Inclined plane: _______________________________________________

• Lever: ________________________________________________________

• Pulley: _______________________________________________________

• Wheel & axle: ________________________________________________

• Screw: _______________________________________________________

• Wedges – cheese grater, vegetable peeler, doorstop, axe, shovel, plow • Inclined plane – ramp, staircase, slide • Lever – seesaw, bottle opener, scissors, muscles, wheelbarrow, spray bottle, gaming controls, hammer claw, door hinge • Pulley – bicycle or kayak storage lift, window blinds/shades, flag on a flagpole, pinball pull • Wheel & axle – cars, fishing reel, doors, pizza cutter, tape dispenser, bike • Screw – bolt, light bulb, jar lids, wine opener, drill bit

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