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Simple Machines for Kids - Science Games and Videos

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Simple Machines for Kids - Interesting videos, lessons, quiz games, interactive diagrams, presentations and activities on simple machines.

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Every day you use machines without even thinking about it. A machine is anything that helps make work easier. Basic tools like staplers, screwdrivers and scissors are simple machines. These machines are all based on simple inventions like levers, planes, pulleys or wheels.

Fun Facts about Simple Machines for Kids

A lever is a stiff board or bar that rests on a base called a fulcrum. The fulcrum lifts and moves objects. Scissors, pliers, rakes and staplers are all types of levers.

A pulley has a rope and wheels. It can be used to pull things up. An old-fashioned well uses a pulley to pull water from underground.

A wedge has a pointed end. It can be driven into something to separate it. An axe is a wedge. So is a nail.

A wheel and an axle is a type of simple machine. A wheel has a rod, or axle, running through it. Your bicycle wheel has a wheel and axle.

An inclined plane has a slope that takes you from a lower surface to a higher one. A sloped sidewalk is an inclined plane. A dump truck and a roller coaster also have inclined planes.

A screw is an inclined plane wrapped around a rod. It holds things together securely.

Simple Machine Vocabulary

Learn More All About Simple Machines: Types and Functions

Watch this video all about simple machines:

A cartoon video about the types and functions of simple machines.

Simple Machine Q&A

Question: Who invented the first simple machines?

Answer: The Greek scientist and mathematician, Archimedes didn't invent simple machines, but he did develop and improve them. Early man invented the first machines over 2 million years ago. These were rock axes. People made windmills and water movers around the time of the birth of Christ. Even monkeys and some other animals use simple machines like sticks and rocks to get food.

Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Simple Machines info? Take the FREE & fun Simple Machines quiz and download FREE Simple Machines worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.

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Every day you use machines without even thinking about it. A machine is anything that helps make work easier. Basic tools like staplers, screwdrivers and scissors are simple machines. These machines are all based on simple inventions like levers, planes, pulleys or wheels.

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Lots of EPIC Simple Machine Projects for students to make using things around the house! Learn about simple machines for kids!

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Use with the Inclined Plane Lab

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A machine is something that makes it easier for us to do work, such as moving objects. Simple machines are ones which have only one part to do the work.

The following information about simple machines can be found below:

A printable PDF of the information on this page is available in the right-hand column.

Simple machines

Diagram one is an example of a simple machine.

More complicated machines (sometimes called Compound Machines) are made up of a number of simple machines that work together to help do the work. A wheelbarrow is one example of a compound machine because it has levers (handles) and a wheel (see Diagram 2).

Load, effort and mechanical advantage

The load is the object that is moved. In Diagram 1, the load is the weight of the rock.

The effort is the force that is used to do the work. In Diagram 1, the effort is the force that the person applies to the crowbar to move the rock.

You can use a simple machine to move a large load with a smaller effort than you would need if you did not have a machine to help you. This is called gaining a mechanical advantage.

Inclined planes

An inclined plane is a flat surface that is at an angle to the load. This type of 'machine' has no parts that move.

An example of an inclined plane is a ramp for wheelchairs (see Diagram 3). The inclined plane of the ramp makes it easier for the person in the wheelchair to move up into a building.

The steeper the slope of the inclined plane, the more effort it takes to move the person in the wheelchair up the slope.

Some other examples of inclined planes include:

roads leading up slopes

car ramps in parking stations

staircases for people to walk up and down.

You will agree that it is easier to walk up a ramp or a staircase than to climb to the same height up a ladder.

Levers

A lever is a rigid bar that rotates around a fixed point. This balancing point is called the fulcrum. A lever uses a force (or effort) to make the load move.

There are different types of levers, depending on where the load, the effort, and the fulcrum (balancing point) are positioned. For this reason, levers are classified into 3 separate groups: Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.

Class 1 lever: This is where the fulcrum is between the load and the effort.

One example would be using a screwdriver to open a can of paint (see Diagram 4). In this case, the screwdriver is the lever.

Imagine how much harder it would be if you had to lift the lid off a paint can with your fingers, without the help of a lever!

Pushing down on the lever (the screwdriver) raises the load (the paint can lid).

Other examples of Class 1 levers include:

using a bottle opener to open a bottle of drink

using a claw hammer to pull out a nail

playing on a see-saw.

Class 2 lever: This is where the fulcrum is at one end of the lever, the effort is at the other end, and the load is in between.

One example would be a person lifting a load in a wheelbarrow (see Diagram 5). In this case, the wheelbarrow and its handles are the lever, the load is the weight in the wheelbarrow, and the force applied by the person lifting the handles is the effort. The fulcrum (the balance point of the lever) is the axle of the wheelbarrow.

Other examples of Class 2 levers include:

staplers that staple sheets of paper together

nutcrackers that have the hinge at the end of the machine.

Class 3 lever: This is where the fulcrum is at one end of the lever, the load is at the other end, and the effort is in between. These levers involve using a large effort to move a small load a long distance.

An example is a person playing golf (see Diagram 6). In this case the golf club plus the person's arms is the lever, the golfer's shoulder is the fulcrum, the force being applied to the golf club by the golfer's hands is the effort, and the load is the weight of the golf ball.

Other examples of Class 3 levers include:

using a cricket bat, a tennis racquet or a hockey stick to hit a ball

using a fishing rod to cast a fishing line.

Levers in balance

A see-saw is actually a lever with a fulcrum (balancing point) in the middle (see Diagram 7). Think about a see-saw with two people sitting at different distances from the fulcrum. If one person is twice as heavy as the other, the lighter person must sit further away from the fulcrum than the heavier person for the see-saw to be balanced.

Once balanced, it requires very little force for each person to push the see-saw up and down with their legs.

Wheels and axles

A wheel and axle is a simple machine that is made up of a smaller cylinder (the axle) joined to a larger cylinder (the wheel).

Often a wheel and axle is used to make it much easier to move a load. An example of this is a trolley, or any other wheeled vehicle (see Diagram 8). You will agree that it would be much easier to move a heavy load across the ground with a trolley that does have wheels rather than with a trolley that does not have wheels.

Pulleys

A pulley consists of a rope (or a belt or chain) that passes around a wheel.

Fixed pulleys

An example of a fixed pulley would be a pulley at the top of a flagpole (see Diagram 9). Because of the pulley at the top, the person raising the flag can stand on the ground and hoist the flag by pulling down on the rope. Imagine how much harder it would be without a pulley - the person would need to climb up the flagpole with the flag!

Other examples of fixed pulleys include:

the pulley at the top of a yacht mast. The deckhand can raise the sail up the mast by pulling down on the rope.

the pulley at the end of the boom of a crane. The crane works by pulling upwards to lift the load.

Moving pulleys

Diagram 10 shows one moving pulley attached to the engine (the load), and one fixed pulley attached to the support above. This type of pulley system is called a 'block and tackle', where 'block' refers to the pulleys and 'tackle' is the chain that the person is pulling to lift the engine.

Wedges

A good example of a wedge is an axe, where the head of the axe is made up of two inclined planes which do the work.

Think about an axe being used to chop and split a piece of firewood (see Diagram 11). The axe is actually being used to change the direction of the force. The force of the axe blow is downwards, but the wedge changes this downward force into two sideways forces, causing the wood to split apart.

Other examples of wedges include:

a knife blade

a chisel used in woodworking

the point at the end of a nail

a doorstop that is wedged under a door to prevent it from moving.

Screws

A screw is really an inclined plane that is coiled around a shaft (see Diagram 12).

Some examples of screws include:

wood screws

the screw in a car jack

the screw on the lid of a jar

the blades of a fan

the blades of an aeroplane propeller.

Gears

Gears are toothed wheels that fit together so that when one gear turns it also turns the other gear. Sometimes the gears fit directly together, and sometimes they work together through a chain or a belt (see Diagram 13).

Look at the animated gears. The big one has 40 teeth, and the small one has 20 teeth. Suppose that the big gear is being used to drive the small gear. Each time the big gear rotates once, it uses all its 40 teeth. The small gear has only 20 teeth, so it is rotated twice. This is producing a gain in distance.

On the other hand, suppose that the small gear is being used to drive the big gear. In this case, the small gear will need to rotate twice in order to turn the big gear around once. This is producing a gain in force.

Some examples of the use of gears include:

mechanical clocks

car gearbox and drive systems

electric drills.

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Information about seven types of simple machines.

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Physical Science for Children:  Simple Machines

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Physical Science for Children:  Simple Machines

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Simple Machines for Kids: Science and Engineering for Children - FreeSchool

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Purpose: The purpose of this web site is to teach elementary students about the six simple machines. Each of the machine pages below contain information and activities for the students to use. Teachers may use the links at the bottom for ideas, resources, and lesson plans. Enjoy! About this site...

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Museum of Science and Industry: Simple Machines Game

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Game with challenges to create simple machines that help adorable-but-lazy Twitch do his work.

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Definitions and Examples of all Six Simple Machines

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Definitions and Examples of all Six Simple Machines