This is Kelso from Chimacum WA reporting to you on a blog. After the super science woman was interviewed about the simple machines this is what he had to say:
Wellllll... the simple machines are inclined plane, screw, pulley, wedge, lever, and wheel and axle. (wheel and axle go together) While our teacher (Mr.Gonzalez) was at oddysey he gave us a assignment to learn about the 6 simple machines. Our information was collected from: http://www.historyforkids.org/scienceforkids/physics/machines/index.htm, http://www.fi.edu/qa97/spotlight3/spotlight3.html, http://www.mikids.com/Smachines.htm, http://www.cosi.org/files/Flash/simpMach/sm1.swf, http://msteacher.org/epubs/science/science10/innovations.aspx, http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsToolbox.html, http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/SimpleMachines/machines002.htm, and http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/machines/sciber/intro.htm.
The first simple machine I learned about was the lever. A lever is something you push or pull on to move something. You usually use a lever to move something heavy or make it go fast. The earliest levers developed inside animals bodies. They developed in fish first around 440 million years ago. We have used levers as tools for about 200,000 years now. One of the most important ways we used a lever was for a shaduf to lift water into irrigation channels. NOW THATS A LEVER!!!!
The next simple machine we learned about was a pulley. It is a kind of wheel. It has two raised edges to fit rope through so that it won't come out. Pulleys might have been invented by Archimedes about 250 BC. Pulleys can be used to make it easier to pull a rope or to change the direction of a force or to get more mechanical advantage. You can lift something heavier than you can lift it yourself with a pulley.
Our 3rd simple machine was a pulley. They are used to make pushing objects easier. They make it so that people don't have to lift a object. Making the ramp steeper and shorter make you have to push harder. You can also make the ramp less steep and you can push less harder but you would have to push longer. Inclined planes have been used since about 200,00 years ago. By the time of 2500BC people built thier own Earth ramps to move heavy stones.
Next We learned about a wedge. It has two inclined planes back to back like a hatchet or axe. They were made long before people. We have used wedges in Africa since the stone age or 2.6 million years ago. You can use a wooden wedge to split a bigger piece of wood into smaller pieces. A thick short wedge will split things apart faster but you will have to push it down harder. A thin long wedge will drive in easier but will take longer.
A screw is one kind of inclined plane. Screws were invented mostly by people. They came long before the wheel and axle. The earliest type of screw that we have discovered came from about 700BC. The assyrian king might have used a screw pump. After that no one used a screw until about 250BC. Screws can convert force that goes around and forces that go up and down. They can thread into things like wood.
For one people didn't use wheels until the early bronze age. (around 3500BC) The earliest evidence of people using wheels comes from Sumeria 3500BC just when people started to live in city states. The first wheels were pottery. Three-hundred years later people decided to use it on wagons. The wheel allows you to do something easy for a long time. Axles also turn and will go around in a much smaller distance but with more force.
If you want to learn more about the simple machines check out my classmates blogs and the websites I have provided. Again this is Kelso from Chimacum WA signing out. P.S. DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT!!!
