Science

Today I am going to narrate to you about what I read yesterday in my Apologia Science book. Apologia is a cool science curriculum, it thoroughly explains everything talked about. This week I am doing the 4th module, but I did not schedule it right, so since it is already Friday, I studied for the test today and I am going to take the test Saturday. Oh well, one test on a weekend is o.k.

In the module I am on(4th) it is talking about Simple Machines. The six simple machines are: the lever, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw. Yesterday I read about the last three.

The inclined plane is better known as a ramp. It is used to more easily move a heavy object. And the effort or force is placed parallel to the slope. The wedge is used to split something, such as a piece of wood. Have you ever tried to use an ax to chop a piece of wood? If you have then you have used a wedge. If you have not, then you get the idea, right? The inclined plane and the wedge look exactly the same but the effort is placed at the vertical edge of the wedge. The best way to show you without a picture is with a >. Good enough? I hope that gives you an idea of how the inclined plane and the wedge look alike, but are used in different ways for different things.

The screw is something you have probably used before. It has a head(the top part of the screw), a shaft(the long straight area), and the threads(the long string type thing wrapped around the shaft). The screw is used to connect two or more objects together, such as two pieces of wood, or a screw could be used to hang up a picture frame or other home decor object( you usually use nails though).

Have you ever tried to screw a screw in with your fingers? Kinda hard right? So what do you use? A screw driver. A screw driver is used to screw a screw into something, but why is it easier to screw it in with a screw driver? Because with a screw driver you can get more of a mechanical advantage, which is how much effort it takes to turn, lift or move something. The bigger the mechanical advantage the less effort it takes to move it. I don't want to go in too deep, but I just wanted you to get the idea.

I hope I explained everything clear enough, and I hope you enjoyed learning about it with me :)