Making

work easier
 ks Closer
Loo
Click
Luca’s Levers
art by Mary Rojas
Luca is hungry. Lots of the tools in
his kitchen are levers or pairs of
levers. Which did he use to . . .

open a bag of
snacks?
flip a pancake?

take a hot dog

open a walnut? out of a pot?
art © 2018 by Mary Rojas

Answers on page 34.

2
 Hey Jane, look
what CeCe
Hey, Jane, look
and I got for
what CeCe and
the clubhouse.
I got for the
clubhouse.

True, but that

chair looks heavy.
We already How are you going
have a chair. to get it up to the
clubhouse loft?

True, but that

But there are

three of us.

When I jump on this end

Don’t worry! I of the seesaw, the other
have a plan! end will go up and send
the chair flying into the
clubhouse.
This I have
to see.

3
 You’re too light.
Hmm! There needs
Something to be more
went wrong. weight. I’ll help.

Uh-oh!

There must be a
better way to get
this chair up into the
clubhouse.

4
How about we use
a ramp?
Run! It’s
sliding back!

On second
thought, maybe
not.

CLOO, A seesaw is basically a big lever. It’s

CLOO! a great example of a simple machine
Let’s ask Cloo.
that can help you lift things. So is a
He will know
ramp. But the best machine for this
what to do.
job is a pulley.

A pulley is a wheel with a

How does
groove that a rope can spin
it work?
around. You pull down on one end
of the rope to make the other
end go up. It’s easier to pull
down than up.

5
 It can be even easier if you attach a
counterweight to your end of the rope. This is hard.
Then you won’t have to pull so hard. Let’s get a
When the counterweight goes down, counterweight.
the chair will come up.

Click, you might want No, this combo is

to use something else perfect. It weighs just
as your counterweight. a bit more than the
chair downstairs.

It’s Ta-da!
working!

6
 How simple
was that!

Sometimes
I really impress
myself. You’re a
genius,
Click!

Um, Click, any ideas on

how to get the chair you
used as a counterweight
back up here?

7
 M e et t h e
Hi, I’m Maxine.
I’m here to tell
you about simple
machines.

Ma c h i n e s art by Thor W
ickstrom

A machine is any tool that makes

work easier. Now when I say work,
I don’t mean jobs or chores. I’m
talking about what scientists call
work: making something move.
No matter how
hard I push this box
of cookies, I haven’t I’ve done a lot of
done work unless it work! I moved ten
actually moves. cookies from the
box into my mouth.

There are six kinds of simple

machines, but each can be used in
lots of different ways. What makes
them simple? Easy, they have just
Come on, I’ll
a few or no moving parts. show you.

8
 ra mp
I have to push her a
longer distance, but the
work is easier to do.
The longer the
ramp, the less
effort you need
A ramp doesn’t move, to use.

but it helps you move

things. Roxy is too heavy
for me to lift straight
up from the floor. But I
can push her up a ramp
onto the table.

A ramp doesn’t have

to be straight. It can turn
around and around, like This path is
the path up a mountain. longer, but it’s
easier to climb.

This is
hard work!

9
 s A screw is a pole with a kind of
c ramp winding around it. But it doesn’t
r stay still like a ramp. When I turn this
e
screw, it twists its way into the log.
w UMPH!

Screws are good for

holding things together.
It’s hard to pull them
Turning the screw is straight out.
easier than pushing it
straight into the log, Try
just like going around the turning it.
mountain is easier than
climbing straight up.

You probably use a wedge whenever

w
e you cut something or make a hole. It
d can be round and pointy like the tip of
g a thumbtack, or long and thin like the
e
blade of a knife.
As I push the sharp Teeth are my favorite
edge of the blade down, kind of wedge.
the blade pushes the meat
apart. It’s easier than
pulling the meat apart
with my hands.

10
 leve r

A lever is any bar or board that tilts,

or pivots, around a point called the
fulcrum. A seesaw is a kind of lever. I
can’t lift Roxy off the ground with my
arms. But I can with a seesaw. Other
kinds of levers help you move things
faster and farther.

When I push down here,

the other end of the
seesaw goes up.

fulcrum

If the seesaw’s
fulcrum is farther
away from me, I
don’t have to push But I don’t move
as hard. up as high.

If the seesaw’s
fulcrum is closer
to me, I have to
fulcrum push harder.

But I get
lifted higher!

fulcrum
11
 It’s hard to push or pull
wheel
Roxy. Her body rubs against
and
the floor and grips it. But if I
axle
UMPH! put her on wheels, it’s easy.

HMPH! The wheels touch the floor

in just a few places. They
roll smoothly instead of
rubbing, so I don’t have to
push as hard.

A wheel is often attached to a pole

called an axle. The wheel and axle
turn together in a simple machine.

A big wheel is easier to turn The fat handle

than a skinny axle. The shaft is the wheel. It’s
of this screwdriver is an axle. easier to turn.
It’s hard to turn.

12
 pul Pulling something
A pulley is a wheel
l ey up can be hard. with a groove that a
rope or chain can spin
around. The wheel
lets you change the
direction the rope
moves.
Or it can
be easy!

The pulley at the top of the

flagpole stays in place while
the rope and flag move.
Another kind of pulley
moves with the thing you’re
moving. The two types are
often used together. Whee!
Bye!
You need a longer
piece of rope and
you have to pull it
farther, but you don’t
have to pull as hard.

13
 Kitchen Helpers
art by Meg McLean

Everywhere you look—in drawers,

in cabinets, or hanging from the
ceiling—you’ll find simple machines.

CAN YOU FIND

staircase
broom
lightbulb
blinds cord
jar top
oven door
sink
knife
toaster handle
rolling pin
pushpin
paper towel holder

14
15
 Did you find these kitchen helpers?
A pulley and
cord raise and
lower window
blinds.
The paper towel roll
spins around the bar
that goes through its
middle. It’s a wheel.

The blade of a
knife is a wedge.
You push the
wedge through
food to slice or
chop.

An oven door is a
lever that pivots
on a hinge.

Can you find

more simple
machines in this
kitchen? The point of a pushpin
is a wedge. It’s easy to
push the sharp point
I see lots.
into a corkboard.

16
 The bottom of a sink might look
flat, but it’s really a ramp. If the
The bottom of sink bottom didn’t slope down
a lightbulb is to the drain, the water wouldn’t
a screw. flow out.

Because
it slopes
upward, a
staircase is
a kind of
ramp.

The handle
of a toaster
is a lever that
turns the
toaster on.

A rolling pin is a tube-shaped
wheel that turns around the
handles, the axle.
A broom is a lever.
When you sweep, one
hand pushes and the
other hand becomes
the fulcrum that the
long broom handle
pivots against.
A jar lid is a screw.
It screws tight onto
the grooves in the
jar neck to keep
what’s inside fresh.

17
 The Great
Pyramid Mystery
art by Patrick Girouard

T he Great Pyramid of Egypt was built

more than 4,500 years ago. Nearly
500 feet high, it’s taller than a 40-story
skyscraper. For more than 4,000 years,
It’s taller then
the Statue of
Liberty!
it held the record for the world’s tallest
structure.
art © 2018 by Partick Girouard

Now thousands of buildings stand even

higher, but they were built with machines
powered by engines and electricity. The
ancient Egyptians didn’t have those.
18
 How tall?
1,000ft

500ft

300ft

200ft

Leaning Tower Statue of Big Ben Great Pyramid Eiffel Tower

of Pisa Liberty

The Great Pyramid

How did they cut and move more than is the oldest and
largest of the giant

2 million giant stone blocks? Most of the pyramids found in

Giza, Egypt.

blocks weigh more than 2 tons, as much

as a small car. Some weigh more than 50
tons. How did workers lift them so high
and stack them in just the right place?
Scientists and historians have lots of
ideas, but no one knows for sure. Everyone
agrees, however, that it took a lot of hard
work and a few simple machines.
19
 To cut and shape the
pyramid’s huge, heavy
blocks, workers used
sharp wedges, including
copper chisels and axes
and hard stone tools.
Most of the blocks were
carved from nearby
stone quarries, or pits.
But some had to travel
hundreds of miles.

The ancient Egyptians did

not have wheels and axles
when they built the Great
Pyramid. Wheels would
not have rolled well across
the sandy, rocky ground
anyway. Workers probably
used levers to move the
blocks onto wooden sleds.

The sleds could be

pushed or pulled onto
boats to travel long
distances. Some experts
think workers dug
canals to get the boats
as close to the pyramid
as possible.

20
To go over land, teams
of workers might have
dragged the sleds.
Some researchers think
the workers used rollers
under the sleds.

Others think they

poured water or
oil on the ground
to make it more
slippery.

Most people think the

Egyptians built ramps
to help workers move
the blocks up the
pyramid. But no one
agrees on what type.

It’s
all still
a mystery!

21
 ? ? What
O art by JoAnn Adinolfi

You’re so clever
you know I’m a lever
’cause I have a handle you swing.

My name can mean noise,

but all you’ll hear, girls and boys,
is a soft thud when a ball hits my strings.

What am I?
22
 Cup drops.
Top pops.
Sigh.
Drop me.
You’ll see
My
Strong screw
Keeps you
Dry.

What am I?
g?
Am I? b
I’ve a wedge at one end
to cut into the ground.
But to lift heavy dirt
and throw it around,
A lever works better,
and I have that too.
It’s just one of the jobs
my long handle can do.

What am I?
23
 Not So Simple
A tool made of not one but A screw is used to raise
or lower the seat.
many simple machines
working together is called a
complex machine. A bicycle Screws hold
is a complex machine. the pieces of
the bicycle
Here’s a look at some of the
frame together.
simple machines it uses.

A gear is a wheel with

sharp points called
teeth around its edge.

A bike may
not be simple,
but it sure is
fun!

The bicycle chain goes

around one pulley
wheel on the pedals
and another on the
back wheel.
24
Machine
The handlebars are
levers.

On this bike, you pull these

levers to put on the brakes.

Do you know which

simple machines
make up
A wheel and axle a can opener?
make a bicycle roll.

scissors?

a wheelbarrow?
together!
And screws hold all the pieces
lever, wheel and axle
Wheelbarrow:
lever, wedge
Scissors:
lever, wedge, wheel and axle
Can opener:

25
 Operation:
Rescue Possum
by Charnan Simon art by John Nez

O ne day when Jakey went outside to play, he

found a possum in the window well.
“Hello, possum,” Jakey said. “You look stuck.
How did you get down there, anyhow?”
The possum hissed at Jakey.
“Whoa, possum,” said Jakey. He backed away.
This possum didn’t look cozy and friendly like the
possums in his picture books.
Jakey’s big brothers came around the corner of
the house. “Whatcha got there, Jakey?” they said.
“A stuck possum,” Jakey said.
“We’ve got to get that possum out!” Artie and
Danny said. “Time for Operation: Rescue Possum!”
They hurried to their workshop in the barn.

26
 When Jakey followed, Artie and Danny were
already hard at work drawing up plans.
“We don’t want to touch the possum,” Artie
said. “It might bite. Besides, it looks too big to
just lift.”
Artie showed Jakey their plan. “First we’ll build
a framework over the window well. Then we’ll
build a pulley system on the framework.”
Danny took over. “We’ll need levers and
pulleys and a really long rope.” He made some
more sketches. “If we stand almost all the way
to the vegetable garden, we should have enough
leverage to pull that big furball up.”
27
 Jakey looked at the plan. “How will you get the
possum to stay on that platform?” he asked.
Artie and Danny looked at each other.
“We’ll have to make a harness,” Artie decided.
“We’ll clip the harness to a hook screwed into
the platform, so it won’t come loose,” Danny said.
“Then we’ll lower something possums like to eat
on a pole, and use it as bait to get that possum to
walk right into the harness.”
“Right!” said Artie. He pulled half of an old
bologna sandwich from his pants pocket. “This
ought to work as bait.” He looked at Danny’s plan.
“We might need some counterweights,” he said.
“Yes!” said Danny. “Counterweights are good!”

Jakey looked at Artie’s bologna sandwich. It was

greenish around the edges and looked disgusting.
Any possum who ate that sandwich would get sick.
28
 Jakey poked around the barn until he found
a nice long board. Artie and Danny were so
busy with their plans, they didn’t even notice.
Jakey dragged the board around the side of
the house. He slid the board into the window
well. He wiggled it around until it was slanted
against the corner next to the possum.
The possum didn’t seem to like sharing the
window well with a board. It growled at Jakey.
“Oh, pipe down,” Jakey said.
29
 Jakey climbed up into his treehouse and
waited. The possum sniffed the board, then
poked it with one foot. Then it waddled up
the board and out of the window well and
into the woods behind the barn.

Jakey watched the possum disappear

into the trees. Then he lay on his back
and smiled up at the clouds. Operation:
Rescue Crabby Possum was a success.

30
 Loads of Leversphotographs by Tanya Moran

A seesaw, a door, a baseball

bat—they’re all levers, but
each belongs to a different
class. These classes aren’t like
the ones in school. Instead,
The fulcrum is the
place the lever sits and pivots.
It doesn’t move.
You supply the effort at the
place you push or pull the lever.

they tell you where the lever’s

The load is the thing that
fulcrum, effort, and load are. gets moved.
Try these activities to see
what the differences are.

You need:
• ruler (the lever)
• marker (the fulcrum)
• can or block
(the load)
• rubber bands (to
attach the load)

If your marker
rolls, try wrapping
a rubber band
around it.

31
 1
In a first-class lever, the
fulcrum is always between
the effort and the load.

When you push the empty

end of the ruler down, you
supply the effort, and the
can is lifted.

load

effort
fulcrum

2
In a second-class lever, the
load is always between the
fulcrum and the effort.

The wheel is
When you lift the empty
the fulcrum.
Click supplies
end of the ruler, you
the effort. And supply the effort, and
I’m the load!
the can is lifted.
load

fulcrum effort

3
It takes more effort
In a third-class lever, the to lift the can with
effort is always between the third-class lever,
the fulcrum and the load. but the can moves
farther and faster.

When you lift the middle

of the ruler, you supply the
load
effort, and the can is lifted.

fulcrum
effort
32
• What happens if you put the marker closer
to the can or closer to your hand?
• Is it easier or harder to push the ruler down?
• How high does the can get lifted?

• Is it easier or harder to lift the

ruler when your hand is closer
to the can?
• What about when the can is
farther away from the marker?
• A door’s hinges are its fulcrum.
Is it easier to push a door open
near its hinges or far away?

Pretend the can is a baseball, and the ruler

is a bat. When you swing, your bottom
hand is the fulcrum and the other supplies
the effort. A bat doesn’t reduce your effort,
but it moves the ball farther and faster than
you could by just throwing the ball.

33
 Luca’s Levers

Luca used . . . scissors to open

art by Mary Rojas the bag of snacks.

a spatula to flip
the pancake. tongs to take the hot
dog out of the pot.

a nutcracker
to open walnuts.
art © 2018 by Mary Rojas

Grateful acknowledgment is given to the following publishers and copyright owners for permission to reprint selections from their publications. All possible care has been taken to trace ownership and secure
permission for each selection. “Meet the Machines” art © 2011 by Thor Wickstrom; “Kitchen Helpers” art © 2011 by Meg McLean; ”What Am I?” art © 2011 by JoAnn Adinolfi; ”Operation: Rescue Possum” text
© 2011 by Charnan Simon, art © 2011 by John Nez.
Cover art © 2018 by Christine Schneider.
Photo acknowledgments: 16 (RT) photo25th/Shutterstock.com; 16 (LT) Joanne Blanchard/Shutterstock.com; 16 (RC) a_v_d/Shutterstock.com; 16 (CC) sinicak/Shutterstock.com; 16 (BC) Baloncici/Shutterstock
.com; 16 (RB) DenisNata/Shutterstock.com; 17 (LT) Christopher Ewing/Shutterstock.com; 17(TC) Joe Gough/Shutterstock.com; 17 (RT) Calek/Shutterstock.com; 17 (RC) Michael C. Gray/Shutterstock.com;
17 (RB) Hurst Photo/Shutterstock.com; 17 (RB) ericlefrancais/Shutterstock.com; 17 (BC) RTimages/Shutterstock.com; 17 (LB) Joe Belanger/Shutterstock.com; 18–19 (DPS) Pakhnyushchy/Shutterstock.com; 19 (RT)
Artit Fongfung/Shutterstock.com; 24 (DPS) Tatuasha/Shutterstock.com; 24 (LB) Tompet/Shutterstock.com; 25 (RT) greenland/Shutterstock.com; 25 (RC) terekhov igor/Shutterstock.com; 25 (RC) IB Photograph
/Shutterstock.com; 25 (RB) Infomages/Shutterstock.com; 37–38 (TC) Bonita R. Cheshier/Shutterstock.com; 37–38 (CC) kampolz/Shutterstock.com; 37–38 (BC) Bonita R. Cheshier/Shutterstock.com; back cover (LC)
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com; back cover (LB) Suchan/Shutterstock.com.

34
 DO ANIMALS DREAM?

Art © 2015 by Jean Kim, photo: Bakhtiozin Alexey/Shutterstock.com

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