http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_simple/cub_simple_lesson02.xmllessontext/xmlIntegrated Teaching and Learning Program, angleforceinclined planematerial propertiesmechanical advantagesimple machinewedgeworkAngleDesignEngineeringForceInclined planeMaterial propertiesMechanical advantageQuarrySimple machineSplitToolWedgeWork

Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam). Students gain an understanding of how simple machines are used in engineering applications to make our lives and work easier.

Wedges perform work on materials and enable engineers to build or cut materials into desired shapes. One of the most common uses of a wedge is as a construction or manufacturing tool. Technological advances have modified the way we use the wedge as a tool. For example, the jackhammer — an automated chiseling device — is a modern-day wedge. When designing a wedge for a specific task, engineers design the wedge angle (or sharpness) and determine the wedge material appropriate for the task. Engineers use a wedge to gain a mechanical advantage — a trade-off that results in the amount of cutting one must do being increased, but the cutting being much easier to perform. Understand what a wedge is and how it has been used in the past and present to help do work.Hypothesize how wedges might have been used in pyramid building.Describe how engineers use their understanding of material properties to choose the correct tool material. 15TeachEngineering.orgLindsey WrightLawrence E. CarlsonJacquelyn SullivanMalinda Schaefer ZarskeDenise Carlson, with design input from the students in the spring 2005 K-12 Engineering Outreach Corps course.http://www.swbochnacki.com/http://imglib.lbl.gov/ImgLib/COLLECTIONS/BERKELEY-LAB/RESEARCH-1930-1990/PARTICLE-PHYSICS/OTHER/index/96A04898.htmlhttp://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_2_1.htm#MachinesKagan, Spencer. Cooperative Learning. Capistrano, CA: Kagan Cooperative Learning, 1994. (Source for Numbered Heads assessment)http://www.mikids.com/Smachines.htmhttp://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/S11416CEInternational_Technology_Education_Association-ITEA_STL_StandardsTechnologyD. Tools, materials, and skills are used to make things and carry out tasks. 35United StatesCopyright 2012 - Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulderhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-03-304Teacher