Memorandum To: From: Subject: Engineering Intern team Project Manager Basic Principles

1. Take a moment to work through this review of basic principles of mechanics and simple machine concepts: a) Inclined Plane The inclined plane is one of the basic principles of modern machinery. Its chief purpose is to enable a small force to overcome a large force. The act of rolling a barrel up a plank into a wagon is a simple example of the use of the inclined plane. Modifications of this principle are the wedge and screw. b) Lever. The lever is another basic principle of mechanics. It consists of a rigid bar resting upon a point called the fulcrum. Some examples of tools which make use of lever fulcrum points are pliers and shears, shovel, and wheelbarrow. The wheel and axle, and pulley are modifications of a lever. c) Wedge. The wedge is one of the oldest mechanisms and comes under the heading of the inclined plane. Some examples of wedges are the ax, chisel, nails, pins, carpenters plane and cutting tools of nearly all kinds. d) Screw. From the point of view of the mechanic, the screw is simply an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder. The vise and letter-press are examples of the screw whose purpose is to obtain increased pressure. Another example, the jackscrew, is used by builders to lift heavy objects with the least effort. The propellers of boats and airplanes are further examples. e) Pulley types. Pulleys are of two kinds, fixed and movable. Both are combined for practical work. Fixed pulleys consist of a wheel with a grooved rim, called a sheave, free to rotate on an axle which is supported in a fixed block. A flexible rope or cable passes over the wheels and there are different types of rims to keep the belt from slipping off. f) Friction. Friction is a force that appears whenever one surface rubs against another, or when an object moves through water, air, or any other liquid or gas. It always opposes motion. Friction happens because two surfaces in close contact grip each other. The harder they press together, the stronger the grip. The same molecular forces are at work as in springs. Forces between the molecules in the surfaces pull the surfaces together. The closer the molecules get, the stronger the force of friction. For a quick review and background on simple machines, check out: Boston Museum of Science: Inventors Toolbox Simple Machines http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/InventorsToolbox.html Canada Science and Technology Museum: Background information for simple machines http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/English/schoolzone/Info_Simple_Machines2.cfm 2. Experiment with the principles of mechanics with some models to test out some ideas, do some initial analysis, and make some rough calculations.

a) Lever Move the fulcrum at 3 different points of the meter stick and measure the force needed to lift the clamp. Add a known mass and repeat. Also consider lifting the clamp/mass with the lever in second- and third-class positions (see diagrams). First Class Lever Second Class Lever Third Class Lever

Fulcrum lies between the force arm and lever arm (ex. crowbar, pliers, scissors) Position Fulcrum Position 1 Fulcrum Position 2 Fulcrum Position 3

Load arm lies between the fulcrum and the force arm (ex. wheelbarrow)

Force are lies between the fulcrum and the load arm (ex. tweezers, shovel)

Distance between clamp and fulcrum

Force required to lift clamp

Force required to lift mass (_____grams)

In each case, what is the relationship between the distance between the fulcrum and the clamp and the force required to lift the clamp/mass? How would you use what you learned from your experiments to recommend the best ways to use levers to the rescue squad? b) Inclined plane i) At three different angles, pull one of the known masses up the inclined plane and, using the spring scales, measure the force it takes to drag the mass up the inclined plane. Now repeat the same measurements with the wood block. You will have to measure the mass of the block. Use the same angles of inclination you tried with the known mass. Record data in an Excel spreadsheet. You should have two tables of data for this section. What is the relationship between the force required to pull the mass/block and the angle of inclination? Mass_______
Vertical height Force to lift mass vertically Angle of inclination (calculated) Force to pull mass up inclined plane Mechanical Advantage (calculated)

What is the relationship between the force required to pull the mass or block and the angle of inclination? How much did the force was required to pull the mass change at those angles?

ii) Friction. Now lay the plane flat. Pull the wood block over it and record the amount of force it takes for it to overcome inertia and slide over the surface. Do the same with a piece of brown paper and then a piece of plastic over the plane. Calculate the coefficient of friction of each surface from your data. ( =F/mg) Repeat the measurements with a known mass. How close are the calculated coefficients of friction to your previous data when the known mass is dragged over each surface? Now repeat the measurements for the wood block on the inclined plane at the same three inclination angles you used before for the brown paper and plastic surfaces. Record data in the Excel spreadsheet. Again, you should have two tables of data for this section, one for each of the two different surfaces. What did your learn from your observations? How would you apply inclined plane principles to a structural collapse rescue? Pulley Try the double pulley system that is set up in the lab. How do the fixed and movable pulleys differ in function? What is the relationship between the length of rope pulled, the force required to lift the weight, and the distance the weight is lifted? What is the mass of the weight? Based on the force you measured to lift the weight with the pulley system, what is your estimate of how heavy the weight is? (note: 1Newton = 0.224809 pounds) Now set up your own pulley system in the 5 different configurations shown below and measure the amount of force it takes to pull the weight in each configuration and the length of rope needed to lift the weight 20 cm (approximately 8 inches). Config #1 Config #2 Config#3 Config #4 Config #5

Configuration Force Length pulled Calculated mechanical adv

What important principles about pulleys did your learn from your observations?

 compare?

How did the calculated and theoretical mechanical advantages In what part of the rescue might pulleys be useful?

A list of engineering conversion units can be found at: http://users.aol.com/tspquinn/units.html One suggested website for a review of pulleys can be found at: http://www.swe.org/iac/lp/pulley_03.html If there is time, you might consider making measurements with a combined pulley and inclined-plane configuration like this one:

Note: Computer analysis tools can also be used to help you with quantifying your parameters, making iterative calculations, data analysis and graphing data. Excel spreadsheets are often very helpful in putting results together. One example of a physics computer simulation of the inclined plane, lever, and pulleys can be found at: Inclined plane: http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/inclplane.htm Lever: http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/lever.htm Pulley: http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/pulleysystem.htm