Work and Simple Machines                                                        .Machines give real wings to our flights of fancy...
Click on the topics below to
navigate among the contents
of this site.
Work, Energy, & Machines
Introduction

Basic Concepts

Simple Machines

Applications

Activities for Students

Activities for Teachers

Visit the
Great AHS Engine
    Project

 This site is designed to supplement and report on the activities planned for a school-wide day of exploration and investigation about work, energy, and machines held at Morrison Elementary School on Thursday March 28, 2002. This day was the collaborative effort of teachers and students in the Athens City Schools and Ohio University and was supported by Morrison's business partner, TS Trim Industries of Athens, Ohio. Students in grades K-6 at Morrison learned about work, energy and machines by
  • Using Lego Logo to control robots
  • Providing human horsepower on the AEP energy bike to light lamps and other electrical devices
  • Exploring force feedback simulations using haptic-augmented computers from Ohio Univeristy's College of Engineering
  • Discovering the simple machines Athens High School physics students put together to build engines that accomplish useful work. (Click Here for some photos of Simple Machines Day.)

Evidence from the earliest archeological digs shows people have been users of tools to accomplish their work. From spear throwers to early wheels humans have applied the technology of simple machines to amplify their abilities. Understanding the how simple machines work and how they can be combined to create more complicated, specialized devices is useful for learning about the relationships among work, energy, and power. Although the study of simple machines is not among the topics included in the National Science Education Standards, Benchmarks for Science Education, or Ohio's Draft Science Academic Content Standards, investigating simple machines can help students explore and apply many of the key concepts about energy and energy transformations these documents stress.

Our goal is for both students and teachers to be intrigued by what they find in this Web site. We hope everyone will enjoy learning about the connections between science and technology provided in the explanations, activities and on-line resources found here.

Last updated Saturday, March 30, 2002
© 2002 All rights reserved   Tom Stork
Background adapted from "Design for a flying machine," a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci