Vocabulary # 3 ( How Levers Work)

Definitions

1. simple machine: a device with few parts that makes it easier to do work
2. effort force: the force applied to a machine
3. resistance force: the force that a machine acts against
4. lever: a simple machine made of a rigid bar on a pivot point
5. fulcrum: the pivot poin of a lever
6. mechanical advantage: the number of times a machine multiplies the force applied
7. pulley:  a grooved wheel that turns by the action of a rope in the groove
8. wheel and axle: a simple machine made of a handle or axis attached to the center of a wheel

Sentences and illustration

1. When simple machines are combined, the result is a complex machine.

2. Effort force is what you apply to a machine.

3. Resistance force is the force the machine acts against.

4. All levers have rigid bars that rest on a pivot.

5. The pivot point in the lever is called fulcrum.

6. A machine's mechanical advantage is found by dividing the distance effort arm moves by the distance the resistance arm moves as the machine does work.

7. A pulley system is made up of several pulleys.

8. Wheel and axle are consists of a wheel that applies the effort force and smaller axle that outputs the force.