LMS Intervention Activity 43 (08 eLMS Activity: Small Scale Ferris Wheel)

What is Wheel and Axle?

A wheel and axle is a simple machine that consists of two connected rings or cylinders, one inside the
other. Both rings or cylinders turn in the same direction around a single center point. The inner ring or
cylinder is called the axle, and the outer one is called the wheel. In a wheel and axle, force may be applied
either to the wheel or to the axle. This force is called the input force. A wheel and axle does not change
the direction of the input force. However, the force put out by the machine, called the output force, is
either greater than the input force or else applied over a greater distance.

Who Invented Wheel and Axle?

No one knows for sure how the wheel and axle was invented it was such a complex and challenging
invention that it came much later in our time here on Earth, during a period of human history called the
Bronze Age. but we do know that it was invented during a time when humans had already began
constructing sailboats and casting metal alloy like bronze. Historians believe the wheel and axle dates
back over 5,500 years and was probably first developed in the Middle East or possibly further north, in
Eastern Europe. It's considered one of the six simple machines, along with the lever, pulley, inclined
plane, wedge, and  screw.

How Does a Wheel and Axle Work?

Some type of force makes either the wheel or the axle move. That motion causes the other part of the
machine to move. The wheel rotates around an axle, or fulcrum, so it can keep moving. You can add
grease to an axle to decrease the friction between the axle and wheel. When two objects rub together, like
sliding a heavy log across the ground, it causes friction and makes it difficult to move the log. Wheels
reduce or eliminate that friction, like when you place heavy log in a wheelbarrow. Since the friction is
reduced, it takes less energy to move the load.