WEDGES MAKE A POINT
SIMPLE MACHINES FOR KIDS
Andi Diehn
Illustrated by Micah Rauch
WEDGES MAKE A POINT
SIMPLE MACHINES FOR KIDS
Andi Diehn Illustrated by Micah Rauch
Dogs might obey when you tell them to “Stay!”
But doors? They just don’t listen.
To get a door to stay, wedge a wedge against the door and rely on friction!
Ice cream might be easy to scoop with a spoon, But not chicken nuggets!
For that, you’ll need a wedge—a knife!
Have you ever tried to keep a door open by placing a bowling ball in front of it? Did it work?
Probably NOT!
Bowling balls are heavy, but they roll. Your door would SLAM SHUT!
What you need is a simple machine:
All simple machines work because they give you a mechanical advantage.
A mechanical advantage makes your pushing and pulling force much more powerful than when you use only your own muscles.
A wedge is a device shaped like a triangle that has a THICK EDGE and a THIN EDGE.
You can use wedges to hold things in place.
A wedge works perfectly to hold a door open! This kind of wedge is called a doorstop.
You can also use wedges to BREAK things apart.
An ax is a wedge that you use to split wood.
A shovel is a wedge that lets you dig and move soil.
How does a wedge work?
All simple machines change the DIRECTION or the STRENGTH of a force.
A wedge transfers force from one side of its shape to the other.