Search Resources

What is the acceleration due to gravity at the space station.

The amount of effort saved when using machines is called mechanical advantage (MA). Simple machines use mechanical advantage as a key property to their functionality, helping humans perform tasks that would require more force than a person could produce. We will use the lever as an example of a simple machine to illustrate the concept of mechanical advantage.

When electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by a material the energy it carries has to go somewhere. When lower energy waves, like radio and infrared waves, are absorbed there can be an increase in temperature of the absorbing material. Higher energy waves, like x-ray and gamma waves, can actually permanently damage or change materials. Learn about the different types of electromagnetic waves and how their energies can influence their effects on objects.

Why do astronauts appear weightless despite being near the Earth?

Basics of gravity and the Law of Universal Gravitation.

In this unit we will learn how these factors can affect the output of a simple machine. We will also learn about the difference between ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) and actual mechanical advantage (AMA), and how to apply your knowledge to calculate the efficiency of various simple machines.

This unit is about how things move along a straight line or, more scientifically, how things move in one dimension. Examples of this would be the movement (motion) of cars along a straight road or of trains along straight railway tracks.

What are simple machines? Simple machines are tools that make work easier. They have few or no moving parts. These machines use energy to do work with one movement. They make our work easier by letting us use less mechanical effort to move an object.

In this lesson you will learn about:

• Simple machines
• Be able to identify different kinds of machines
• Identify classes of levers and pulleys
• Determine mechanical advantage of a lever and pulleys
• Understand and determine the advantage of an inclined plane
• Describe and determine the advantage of a screw jack
• Describe and determine the advantage of a wheel and axel
• Describe and determine the advantage of a hydraulic press

Speed necessary for the space station to stay in orbit.