Basic Machines

In time, people have developed many types of

machines to use in their daily lives. Machines like
the photocopy machine, dishwasher and
washing machine come to your mind when you
hear the word machine, but there are a lot of
simpler machines that we use in our daily lives.
For example, an axe, a pulley on a flagpole and
ramps used to carry heavy objects to a higher
level. The tools in the examples make it easier to
do work. This type of tools are called BASIC
MACHINES.

Ancient Egyptians pushed large stone blocks on logs, up inclined roads to build the pyramids. Using
logs to decreases the friction was a very important step for the invention of the wheel!

1- Inclined Plane
 It is used to lift heavy loads just like pulleys
 An inclined plane is formed between two planes with different heights
 In which case does the worker apply more force to lift the sack?
  In inclined planes there is a gain in force and loss in distance, but there is no gain in work!

 Inclined planes have different forms according to their aims.

a) Wedges
 It is a special type of inclined plane.
 Examples for wedges are knife, axe, door stopper, pickaxe and the incisors teeth in our mouth etc.
 The force applied (input force) increases at the sharp end of the wedge (output force).
 Wedges change the magnitude of force.
Input Force

Input Force
Inclined Plane

Output Force
Output Force

2- Screw
 A screw is an inclined plane in spiral form.
  The similarity between a normal staircase and a spiral staircase is the same similarity between an
inclined plane and a screw.

 When a screw makes one complete turn, it moves a screw pitch through the solid. A screw pitch is
the distance between two threads of a screw.

Lead distance of the Screw = Number of Rotations X Screw Pitch

 In screws, there is gain in force and loss in distance.

3- Gears and Wheels

When a driver wants to change the direction of the car, s/he must turn the steering wheel. The
steering wheel transmits the force to the tyres with the help of gears

 Gears are discs on a axle that has teeth (cogs)

 Gears move in opposite directions
  In the figure below, the gear on the very right transmits the rotation (movement) to the gear on
the very left.

 Gears are found in cars, bicycles, manual and electric drills, clocks etc.

 In the manual drill below there is a large gear and two small gears.
When you turn the large gear once, the small gears turn more than
once, so the small gears and the drill bit turns faster. (with a greater
speed)

 Gears have different sizes according to their aims.

Small Gears 
Gear  As the diameter of the gear increases the number of cogs increases.
Example: In the large bicycle gear above, there are 52 cogs and
there are 13 cogs in the small gear. When the large gear turns once,
the small gear turns four times (with the help of the chain)
Large Gear
 Gears change the direction and speed of movement (rotation)

 Gears connected with chains turn in the same direction.


 Belt Pulleys are basic machines that consist of pulleys connected with belts.

Rotation in the opposite direction

Figure- II
Figure- I

 Crossed connected belt pulleys (wheels) turn in opposite directions. (figure-I)

 Parallel connected belt pulleys (wheels) turn in the same directions. (figure-II)

 Belt pulleys also change the direction and speed of movement (rotation)
Questions

1- Label the pulleys types in the figures below and calculate the force applied to lift the load.

A B C

a) How many metres must you pull the rope in pulley system B to lift the object 3m?

b) Which pulley(s) change the direction of force? ...................................

c) Which pulley system provides the greatest gain in force? .....................

2- A 12000N vehicle went up 6m by using four different inclined planes. According to this information;

a) Compare the energy needed by the vehicle to go up the ramp in each case.
.......................................................................................................................
b) Compare the work done by the vehicle to go up the ramp in each case.
.......................................................................................................................

c) Which vehicle has the greatest gain in force? .................................

d) Which vehicle has the greatest gain in distance? ...............................

 3- Which of the following are examples for wheel and axle? Put a cross next to them.

4- Systems of gears and wheels are given below. Answer the question by looking at the figures.

a) What advantage does this system supply?

.................................................................................................................................................
b) If gear A makes 6 complete turns, write down the direction and number of rotations of B, C and D.
..........................................................................................................................................................

5-

b)If wheel K makes 6 complete turns in the given direction, write down the direction and number of
rotations of L ,M and N.
......................................................................................................................................................

4- Lever
 There are many forms of levers used in many tools.
 Levers consist of a rod and a support.

Output Force

Effort Distance Load

Distance

Input Force

(Effort)
Pivot Load

 The distance between the input force (force applied, effort) and the pivot is called Effort Distance.
 The distance between the load and the pivot is called the Load Distance.
 Load is the weight lifted by the lever.
 Levers are classified according to the position of the pivot

a) First Class Levers

 In first class levers the pivot (fulcrum) is placed between the load and the effort
 Its examples are scissors, pliers, see- saw and etc.

 It changes the direction of force.

 It also changes the magnitude of force so there is a gain in force.**
 b) Second Class Levers

 In second class levers, the load in placed between the effort and the pivot.
 Its examples are nutcracker, wheel barrow, hinged doors and etc.

load

 It changes only the magnitude of force.

 There is gain in force and loss in distance.

c) Third Class Levers

 In third class levers, the effort is applied between the load and the pivot.
 Its examples are tennis racket, tweezers, fishing line, your arm and etc.

 It changes only the magnitude of force.

 There is loss in force and gain in distance.
5- Pulleys

The workers are tying to lift

the sand up to the building with
the help of different pulleys in
the figure.
 Why are they using pulleys?
 Which pulley makes it easier to
lift the sand to the building? 1,2
or3?
 Do you need more energy to lift
the sand without the pulley?
Why?

 A pulley is a basic machine made up of a wheel on an axle and a cable(rope) around it.
 Pulleys are a type of lever.
 There are two types of pulleys: Fixed Pulley and Movable Pulley

Fixed Pulley
 Fixed pulleys are attached to a supporting structure. A load is hung on one end of the rope and
force is applied on the other end. (Figure-I)
 There is no gain in force or distance.
 It changes only the direction of force.

Movable Pulley
 The pulley moves together with the load. (Figure-II)
 One end of the rope is attached to a supporting structure and force is applied to the other end.
 The load moves in the same direction of the force applied so movable pulleys do not change the
direction of force.
 There is a gain in force and loss in distance. This means that a force,half as much as the load, is
applied to lift the load, but in order to lift the load 1m, you must pull the rope 2m.
 Figure – I Figure - II

 Pulleys are used in sailing boats, to lift things in construction areas, and in work machines.

 Movable pulleys and fixed pulleys can be used together to form Pulley Systems.These systems can
change both the direction and magnitude of force.

 As the amount of ropes carrying the load increases the force applieddecreases.
 There is a gain in force and loss in distance.

 Machines that are contain more than one basic machine are called compound machines.