Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features Science Content

Nonfiction Cause and Effect • Captions Simple Machines

• Charts
• Diagrams
• Glossary

Scott Foresman Science 6.16

ISBN 0-328-14016-3

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 Vocabulary What did you learn?
compound machines
effort force
1. What is the scientific definition of work?
fulcrum
load
2. What type of simple machine is the Ferris wheel?
machine
simple machine
3. What are some examples of the simple machine
work
called the wedge?

4. All machines help people

do work. Write to explain the difference
between simple machines and compound
by L.from
machines. Include details L. Owens
the book to
support your answer.

5. Cause and Effect What would be the effect

of friction when moving a heavy object, such as
a piano, over wheels, as opposed to moving it
without wheels?

Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.
The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.

Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).

5 Jeffrey Greenberg /Photo Researchers, Inc.; 6 ©The Science Museum, London /DK Images; 8 Felicia Martinez/
PhotoEdit; 10 (T) ©Conrad Zobel/Corbis. (BL) Brian Mitchell/Alamy Images; 12 Brand X Pictures; 15 (BR) ©The Science
Museum, London /DK Images.

Scott Foresman/Dorling Kindersley would also like to thank: 11 (BL) Stephen Oliver/DK Images.

Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.

ISBN: 0-328-14016-3

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
Work and Machines Work Can Be Measured
You can find out how much work is done for
a given task. All you need is to know the formula
Defining Work that scientists use to measure work:
What do you think about when you hear the word work?
Do you think of chores you do around the house, such as
taking out the garbage, setting the table for dinner, or making work = force x distance
your bed? Do you think of different jobs that adults have,
such as truck driver, computer programmer, or nurse?
All of these examples fit the meaning of work Work is measured in a unit called the joule.
as we use it in our daily lives. We’re going to The abbreviation for the joule is J.
take a closer look at another way to think
about work.
In science, work is the use of force
1 joule (J) = 1 newton (N) x 1 meter (m)
to move something a certain distance.
The force—or pushing and pulling—
is applied to an object. You can tell
that work has occurred when an Let’s use the formula to measure some
object moves. If the object doesn’t work. You moved a wheelbarrow a distance
move, no work has occurred. of 20 meters. You pushed with a force of
If you use a wheelbarrow to 10 newtons. The wheelbarrow moved 20 meters.
move a heavy load across your yard, The work done was 10 N x 20 m, or 200 J.
you have done work. Work was done
because the load moved. Suppose you
tried to lift the load out of the wheelbarrow
but it was too heavy. No matter how hard
you push or pull, you cannot move the load.
In this case, you have not done work because
the load did not move.

The amount of work that occurs

when you push a wheelbarrow
When you lift and push a depends on how much force you
wheelbarrow, work is occurring. push with and how far you push it.

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 A pair of scissors
and a butter knife are
both simple machines.

Machines: The Basics

What do you think of when you hear the word machine?
Something big and noisy, such as a bulldozer—or even bigger
and noisier, such as an airplane? Both of these machines are made
up of hundreds, or even thousands, of moving parts. Did you
know that some machines don’t have any moving parts? It’s true.
By definition, a machine is any device that helps people do work.
A simple machine is a tool or device made up of just one or Loading and unloading a
two parts. Think about some everyday objects, such as a butter truck is easier with a ramp.

knife, a hammer, and a pair of scissors. These are all good

examples of simple machines. They have one or two parts, and
they help you do work, such as spreading peanut butter, removing Machines Make
a nail from a wall, and cutting paper.
Bulldozers and airplanes are compound machines. They’re
Doing Work Easier
made up of many parts, including two or more simple machines. Machines help people do work by reducing the amount
Other common compound machines include an electric pencil of force needed to complete a task. You have probably seen
sharpener, a lawn mower, a car, and a ramp attached to the back of a truck. It is a simple machine
a steamboat. that makes the work of loading objects into the truck easier.
The force needed to push objects up the ramp is less than the
A bulldozer is a compound force needed to lift the same objects. Because less force is
machine because it is made up required, the task is easier.
of many simple machines. A ramp reduces the force needed to lift an object by
increasing the distance over which the force is applied. When
you push something up a ramp into a truck, you cover more
distance than the distance from the ground to the truck. Still,
the task is much easier to complete.

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Friction and Machines
For a machine to do its job, work must go into it. Work For example, machines with many moving parts,
comes from you when you carry your books upstairs. It also such as cars, lose a lot of the input work to friction.
comes from you when you sweep the floor. Work can sometimes This is one of the reasons the car’s engine and its
go into a machine from a different energy source. Some machines, other moving parts need to be properly lubricated.
such as the washing machine that cleans your clothing, are Lubrication reduces friction. People who design
powered by electricity. machines try to reduce friction and the loss
Do you think the amount of work a machine does is the same of work as much as possible. Reducing
amount of work that goes into it? Actually, a machine does less friction saves energy and decreases
work than the amount put into it. The main reason for this the amount of work that must
difference between input and output is friction. Most machines go into a machine.
generate heat when they are operated. Most machines have many
movable parts. Heat is the result of friction between the many
parts of the machine.

Oil reduces friction between

the moving parts of a car’s
Many of a car’s moving parts engine. This increases the
wear out because of friction. amount of work that the
car can do.

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Types Of Levers fall into the following categories:

Simple Machines
First-class Lever
Let’s take a look at how the different types of simple In a first-class lever, the
machines help you do work. There are six basic types. effort force is located at one
end, the load is at the other
end, and the fulcrum is in the
This hammer is effort
acting as a lever.
middle. A pair of pliers is an
force
example of a first-class lever.

fulcrum load

fulcrum A pair of pliers is a first-class lever.

load effort force

load
Second-class Lever fulcrum
Lever An example of a second-class
A lever is one or more bars resting on a support, or fulcrum. lever is a nutcracker. The fulcrum
The lever is used for applying force, such as lifting a weight. Recall is at the closed end. You apply the
that a hammer used to pry a nail out of a wall is a simple machine. effort force to the handles, and the
It is one example of a lever. The curved part of the hammer’s head load is the nut you’re cracking.
is the fulcrum. The nail, or load, creates a force on the hammer.
The force applied to the end of the hammer’s handle is called the This nutcracker is a second-class lever.
effort force. When effort force is applied to the handle it pulls up
on the load. This pulls the nail out of the wood. It is much easier fulcrum effort force load
to pry a nail out of wood with a hammer than by hand.
A fulcrum can occur in different positions on a lever. The Third-class Lever
closer the fulcrum is to the load, the less force is needed to move In a third-class lever,
the load. The closer the fulcrum is to the effort force, the more the fulcrum is at one end
force is needed to move the load. When the fulcrum is close to the and the load is at the other.
load, the load won’t be lifted very high. But when the fulcrum is The effort force is in the
close to the effort force, the load will be lifted higher. A pair of chopsticks is middle. A pair of chopsticks
a third-class lever. is a third-class lever.

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 Wedge
A wedge is a simple machine made
up of one or two inclined planes. Its
point is often called the blade. Examples
include an axe and a knife. A wedge
pushes objects apart. A wedge can only
do this if it is moving. Someone has to
swing an axe to make it chop wood.
And someone has to move a knife to
make it cut through meat.

A road that twists and turns up

a mountain is an inclined plane.
The blade of an axe is a wedge.
Inclined Plane
Remember how a ramp attached to the back of a truck helps
people do work? A ramp is a type of simple machine called an
inclined plane. It’s a slanted surface that makes moving a load
from a low place to a higher place easier.
Other examples of inclined planes Screw
are the slide you see at many playgrounds A screw looks a lot like a nail
and the wheelchair access ramp you can with ridges. Those ridges are called
find at many public buildings. Yet threads. A screw is actually an
another example is a road system that inclined plane that wraps around
winds up a steep mountainside. You have a cylinder. That is what forms the
to travel a greater distance to get to the ridges. A screw works by increasing
top of the mountain than if you had distance and decreasing force. You
gone straight up. But less force is needed can put a light bulb securely into a
to move the car along the twisting road, socket by screwing it in. The ridges
so it makes the work easier. let you fasten it tightly with less
force than if you pushed directly,
but you have to apply the force
An access ramp for a wheelchair-user The ridges on this light bulb over a greater distance.
is also an inclined plane. form a screw.

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The handle of a faucet is
a wheel that turns an axle. fixed wheel

The pulley wheel is

fixed in one position.

A pulling force
lifts the load.
A pulling
wheel
force lifts
The wheel is larger than the axle.
the load.
This means that the force used
to turn the wheel turns the axle
with an even greater force.
The load is attached
to the rope.

fixed pulley system A movable pulley wheel

can move up and down.
axle
Only a small amount
The load is attached to the
of force applied to
movable pulley wheel. This compound pulley
the wheel is needed
system has one fixed pulley
to turn the axle. When
the axle turns, the tap
and one movable pulley.
releases water.

Pulley
Wheel and Axle Have you ever seen a crane lifting large objects at a construction
site? That’s an example of the simple machine called the pulley.
A wheel and axle is a wheel with a rod, called an axle, A pulley is a grooved wheel with a rope, belt, or chain around it.
through its center. A Ferris wheel is an example of a big wheel You attach a load to one end of the rope and apply effort force to
and axle—you’ve probably ridden on one at a carnival or fair. the other end. In other words, you pull on the rope, causing the
A smaller example of a wheel and axle is something you use wheel to turn and the load to move. The point is to make moving
every day—a doorknob. the load easier.
How does a wheel and axle do work? The axle attaches the Pulleys can be fixed or movable. As the wheel turns, a fixed
wheel to the object it is moving. The axle turns when force is pulley stays in one position. Think about seeing a flag raised on a
applied to the wheel, and it is more powerful than the wheel. flagpole. You pull down on the rope to move the flag up. The fixed
So when you turn a faucet, the force you apply turns into a pulley doesn’t move or reduce the effort force needed to raise the
greater force in the axle inside the knob. The force from the flag. It simply changes the direction of the force.
axle is what operates the tap and opens the faucet. A movable pulley is attached to the object being moved.
Other examples of the wheel and axle can be found in cars, It decreases the effort force, but you must apply the force over
bicycles, clocks, roller skates, and faucets. a greater distance.

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 pulley
Compound Machines The winch is a type of pulley. The rope end
hoists weights and raises or lowers the sail.
Most of the machines you come across
every day are compound machines. That
means they are made up of two or more
simple machines. Examples include the lever
stapler you use to fasten papers together The boom is a lever with a fulcrum at
the mast joint. The weight of the sail
and the can opener you use in the kitchen. above it is the load. Force is applied
More complicated examples are your by the guide rope. The rope controls
the direction the boom swings.
watch, the school bus you ride, and
the airplanes that buzz overhead.
Compound machines can have
wheel and axle
hundreds or thousands of parts. The helm is a type of wheel that can
Have you ever seen a sailboat change the direction of the rudder.
up close? It’s a great example of a
compound machine made up of
many simple machines. Here are wedge
examples of all six types of simple The rudder is a type of wedge. It sticks
out below the rear of the boat and
machines in a sailboat. helps steer it. The keel is another
example of a wedge on a sailboat.
It keeps the boat moving through
the water in a straight path.

screw
The propeller is a type
of screw that pushes some
sailboats through the water.

A sailboat is a compound
machine made up of many
different simple machines.

inclined plane
The jib sail, or jib, is an
inclined plane. It directs
the wind to the bigger mainsail.

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 Vocabulary
Glossary What did you learn?
compound machines
effort force
1. What is the scientific definition of work?
fulcrum
compound machines consisting of many parts
load
machines and two or more simple machines 2. What type of simple machine is the Ferris wheel?
machine
simple machine
effort force force applied to a machine 3. What are some examples of the simple machine
work
called the wedge?
fulcrum a fixed point or support on which a lever
turns or moves 4. All machines help people
do work. Write to explain the difference
load the resistance of an object that must between simple machines and compound
be overcome by a machine machines. Include details from the book to
support your answer.
machine a device that helps people do work
5. Cause and Effect What would be the effect
simple a machine with just one or two parts of friction when moving a heavy object, such as
machine a piano, over wheels, as opposed to moving it
without wheels?
work the use of force to move an object by
pushing or pulling, in order to move it
a certain distance

Picture Credits
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material.
The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.

Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).

5 Jeffrey Greenberg /Photo Researchers, Inc.; 6 ©The Science Museum, London /DK Images; 8 Felicia Martinez/
PhotoEdit; 10 (T) ©Conrad Zobel/Corbis. (BL) Brian Mitchell/Alamy Images; 12 Brand X Pictures; 15 (BR) ©The Science
Museum, London /DK Images.

Scott Foresman/Dorling Kindersley would also like to thank: 11 (BL) Stephen Oliver/DK Images.

Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the copyright © of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Pearson.

ISBN: 0-328-14016-3

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any
prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05

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