MACHINE

MACHINE
Machine,simpledevicethataffects the force, or effort, needed
to do a certain amount of work. Machines can make a tough
job seem easier by enabling a person to apply less force or to
apply force in a direction that is easier to manipulate.
Machines lessen the force needed to perform work by
lengthening the distance over which the force is applied.
Although less force is subsequently used, the amount of work
that results remains the same. Machines can also increase the
speed at which work makes an object travel, but increasing
speed requires the application of more effort.

MACHINE
Therearefourtypesof simple machines: the lever, the pulley,
the inclined plane, and the wheel and axle. Each machine
affects the direction or the amount of effort needed to do
work. Most mechanical machines, such as automobiles or
power tools, are complex machines composed of many parts.
However, no matter how complicated a machine is, it is
composed of some combination of the four simple machines.
Although these simple machines have been known and used
for thousands of years, no other simple machines have been
discovered. Two other common simple machines, the screw
and the wedge, are really adaptations of the inclined plane.

MACHINE
Somecommonexamplesof simple machines are the shovel (a
form of lever), the pulley at the top of a flagpole, the steering
wheel of an automobile (a form of wheel and axle), and the
wheelchair ramp (a form of inclined plane). An everyday
example of a complex machine is the can opener, which
combines a lever (the hinged handle), a wheel and axle (the
turning knob), and a wedge (the sharpened cutting disk).

MACHINE
Machineshelppeopledo work by changing the amount of
force and the distance needed to move objects. Work, in
physics, is the amount of force used to move an object
multiplied by the distance over which the force is applied. This
can be written in mathematical terms:
Work=ForceDistance
Forceisdefinedasa push or a pull exerted on one body by
another, such as a hand pushing a book across a table.
Distance refers to the distance a load is moved by the force.
The advantage that a machine gives its user by affecting the
amount of force needed is called the machines mechanical

HOW MACHINES WORK

Amachinecanmakeagiven task seem easier by reducing the
amount of force needed to move an object, by changing the
direction in which the force must be applied, or by doing both.
A machine decreases the amount of force needed by
increasing the distance over which the effort is applied to
move the object. The amount of work needed to overcome
gravity and lift a given load always remains the same, but
spreading the necessary effort out over a longer distance
makes the task seem easier. This is why walking gradually up a
gentle slope is easier than walking up a steep slope. The
distance walked on the gentle slope is longer, but the effort

HOW MACHINES WORK

Peopleusesimplemachines, such as levers and pulleys, to make manual
chores easier. The mechanical energy in a persons muscles makes the
machine do work. Not all machines use muscle power, however, to do
work. A complex machine, such as an airplane engine or an elevator, is
made up of many simple machines. Airplane engines and elevators are
not powered by hand. Complex machines often use the energy stored in
chemical substances, such as airplane fuel or the energy stored in
electricity, to provide the necessary force to do work. An airplane engine
uses the combustion, or rapid burning, of airplane fuel to power the
engine that turns the propeller. An elevator uses large engines, usually
powered by electricity, to pull cables that raise and lower the elevator
car. Electricity also powers the levers that help open and shut the

MECHNICAL ADVANTAGE AND

FRICTION
Measuringthemechanical advantage (MA) is a mathematical way to
determine how much a machine affects the amount of force needed to
do work. Scientists find the mechanical advantage of a machine by
dividing the force the machine delivers by the effort put into the
machine. The theoretical, or ideal, mechanical advantage of a machine is
the advantage it would produce if the machine were perfect. In simple
machines, the main source of imperfection is friction. Friction results from
two bodies moving against each other in different directions. Friction
always opposes motion and makes doing work harder. Since friction is
present in almost every machine, the actual mechanical advantage is
always less than the theoretical mechanical advantage.

EFFECIENCY
Anotherfactorthatpeople sometimes compute for machines is their
efficiency, or the ratio of the work that results to the amount of work put
into the machine. The efficiency of a machine is usually expressed as a
percentage and can vary from 5 percent to 95 percent. A perfect
machine would be 100 percent efficient. Most simple machines are very
efficient, but they always lose some efficiency due to friction. An
automobile engine is much less efficient because much of the energy
used to move the crankshaft is lost to friction in the form of heat
dissipating from the engine..

TYPES OF SIMPLE MACHINES

Thefoursimplemachines each function in different ways, but
they all change the direction or the amount of effort put into
them. All four of these machines can be used to decrease the
amount of force needed to do work or to change the direction
of the force. The wheel and axle and some levers can also be
used to increase the speed of performance of a task, but doing
so always increases the amount of force needed.

INCLINED PLANES
Rampsandstaircasesare simple examples of inclined planes.
An inclined plane is an object that decreases the effort needed
to lift an object by increasing the distance over which the
effort is applied. This increase in distance allows a person to
move a large object to a certain height while applying less
force than would otherwise be needed. (Without the plane, a
person would need to lift with a force equal to the entire
weight of the object.) The tradeoff is that with the inclined
plane, the person must move the object a farther distance. An
inclined plane also changes the directionfrom straight up to
along the angle of the planeof the effort applied. The amount

INCLINED PLANES
Nuts are pieces of metal with a
hole in the middle. They are
screwed on the end of a bolt as a
fastening. Nuts come in varying
shapes, depending on their
intended use.

LEVER
Oneofthemostcommonly used simple machines is the lever. A seesaw
is an example of a lever. The human arm is actually a lever, and the
muscles apply the force needed to lift weight or move objects. A lever
consists of a bar that rotates around a pivot point, which is called the
fulcrum. The force applied by the user is the effort. The object being
lifted is called the load. There are three classes of levers, which vary in
the placement of the effort, the load, and the fulcrum along the bar. In a
Class 1 lever, the fulcrum lies between the effort and the load, as in a
seesaw. In a Class 2 lever, the fulcrum lies at one end, the effort is
applied at the other end, and the load is in the middle, as in a
wheelbarrow. In a Class 3 lever, the fulcrum is again at one end, but the
load is at the other end, and the effort is applied in the middle. The
human forearm is a Class 3 lever. The elbow is the fulcrum, and the

LEVER
Oneofthelimitations of levers is that they only operate
through relatively small angles. The MA of a lever is the
distance from the fulcrum to the point where the force is
applied divided by the distance from the fulcrum to the load.
The MA is maximized when the load is close to the fulcrum and
the effort is far from the fulcrum. In this case, a small effort
can move a large load.

PULLEY
Thepulleyisaspecial type of wheel, called a sheave, which
has a groove cut into the edge to guide a rope, cable, or chain.
Pulleys are used at the top of flagpoles and in some types of
window blinds. If a single pulley is used, the mechanical
advantage is 1, and the only advantage of using the pulley is
that the direction of the force needed is changed. For example,
to raise window blinds, a downward pull on a cord is required.

WHEEL AND AXLE

Thewheelandaxleis similar in appearance to a pulley, with

one major difference: the wheel is fixed to the axle, as is the
steering wheel of a car. A user applies effort to the large outer
wheel of the steering wheel to move the load at the axle. The
MA of a wheel and axle is equal to the radius of the wheel
divided by the radius of the axle. The radius of the wheel, and
therefore its circumference, is usually much larger than the
radius of the axle. Therefore, the distance over which the effort
is applied is much greater than the distance the load, which is
placed at the axle, moves. The difference in the sizes of the
wheel and axle can result in a large mechanical advantage.

COMPLEX MACHINES
Manyeverydayobjects are really combinations of simple
machines. Such combinations are known as complex
machines. The doorknob is a wheel and axle system that
transfers the force applied by a person to a system of levers.
The levers move the bolt and unlatch the door. A pair of pliers
is really two Class 1 levers with the same fulcrum (the pivot
pin). Pliers usually have a mechanical advantage of 5 or
higher. A pair of scissors is a pair of pliers with wedges as the
cutting edge. Cutting something thick or hard is easier when
the scissors are opened wide and the object is placed near the
pivot pin. This placement decreases the distance between the

COMPLEX MACHINES
Manyeverydayobjects are really combinations of simple
machines. Such combinations are known as complex
machines. The doorknob is a wheel and axle system that
transfers the force applied by a person to a system of levers.
The levers move the bolt and unlatch the door. A pair of pliers
is really two Class 1 levers with the same fulcrum (the pivot
pin). Pliers usually have a mechanical advantage of 5 or
higher. A pair of scissors is a pair of pliers with wedges as the
cutting edge. Cutting something thick or hard is easier when
the scissors are opened wide and the object is placed near the
pivot pin. This placement decreases the distance between the