In everyday life, we use many mechanical devices all the time. Some of them, like a pair of scissors, might even seem so simple that we don’t really even think of them as being machines. However, scissors are actually compound machines, meaning they combine more than one type of simple machine together. Scissors are actually two wedges on levers that provide further mechanical advantage, making it easier for the wedges to cut. Make a list of all the compound machines you have used today, and share your list with your classmates.
Try to identify all the simple machines used in the compound machines shared by your peers.
Do you think there are any other types of simple machines, other than the six you have learned about? Why or why not?
Do you think there are any machines that actually use all six types of simple machines?
Work together to describe how you would engineer a device that used as many simple machines as possible.