Science Alive

We learnt that there are different kinds of simple machines. They are:

• levers
• pulleys
• gears
• wheels and axles
• screws
• wedge
• inclined plane (ramp)

Some machines can be made up of several smaller machines. A can open made up of a lever and a wheel and a wedge. The handles are the levers, the bit that cuts is a wedge and the bit you turn is a wheel. Some can openers even have gears to help it turn around.

We learnt some new words like fulcrum and pivot. The fulcrum (or pivot) is the bit of a lever that stays still. We have levers on our bodies. our arms are levers and our elbows are the pivot.