6 Simple Machines
By: Justus Garrett
Lever
A lever is a rigid bar resting on a pivot, used to help move a heavy or firmly fixed load with one end when pressure is applied to the other.
Wheel and Axle
A wheel and axle is a simple lifting machine consisting of a rope that unwinds from a wheel onto a cylindrical drum or shaft joined to the wheel to provide mechanical advantage.
Pulley
A pulley is a wheel with a grooved rim around which a cord passes. It acts to change the direction of a force applied to the cord and is chiefly used to raise heavy weights.
Screw
A screw is a mechanism that converts rotational motion to linear motion, and a torque to a linear force. It is one of the six classical simple machines.
Wedge
A wedge is a piece of wood, metal, or some other material having one thick end and tapering to a thin edge, that is driven between two objects or parts of an object to secure or separate them.