Simple Machines

Simple Machines were invented centuries ago to:

Reduce the force or effort needed to perform a variety of tasks

What kinds of tasks were simple machines needed for?

Heavy objects to be lifted, parts to be pushed together or pulled apart, and large machines need to be moved

Often, it is difficult or impossible for a human being to:

Apply enough force to get the job done

In order to increase the available force to a much large one:

Mechanical advantage is used

Mechanical advantage is defined as:

The advantage gained by the use of a mechanism in transmitting force

Using the proper equipment, it is possible to:

Increase the force applied severalfold

However, while mechanical advantage can be used to amplify force:

This is accomplished by exerting a force over a greater distance

In other words, the work output:

Can never exceed the work input

The good news, however, is that simple machines can make hard work easier by:

Breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces

The efficiency of a machines describes:

How much of the power into the machine is turned into movement or force

A machine that turned 100 percent of the power:

Applied it into the outputted force would have been 100 percent efficiency

In the real world, however no machine is 100 percent efficient, because

All machines are affected and most are affected by worn down/or imperfectly fitted parts