Science Project: Machine Chart...Wedges

This is the continuation of the Machine Chart that we have been working on. So far we have introduced the Lever & Incline Plane...today we will be discussing the Wedge. The wedge is a special kind of incline plane. There are several things that we use on a daily basis that are considered wedges.

One example is an axe head. It has two sloping sides that meet together at a sharp point. A wedge increases force. When you use an axe head the sharp side goes into the wood & the sloping sides follow causing the wood to split...by the force you use.

Other examples of wedges are a chisel, kitchen knife, pins & needles. The wedge on all of these tools make your job easier to do. One of our early American presidents used a wedge when he split rails in his earlier life....do you know who that was? Abraham Lincoln!

Even some animals have built in wedges that God has given them to make their life easier...can you name any of them? We have one animal in our yard that sometimes tries to drill a hole in our siding...it sounds like a jack hammer! It is the woodpecker. Look in your nature books to see if you can find other animals with wedges.

For our chart we labeled the third column "Wedge". We then listed some wedges....Chisel, Axe, Knife, Needle, Bird's Beak, Nail, & Teeth. Yes, teeth! Feel your two front teeth. The edge is sharp & then the sides slope wider. The sharp edge enters the food & then the "force" of your bite splits the food into pieces.

List as many wedges as you can think of on your chart & add drawings & photos if you wish. Later this week we will be working on another simple machine...the screw. So check back for our chart information & experiment that we will be doing on that.