Can you name the classical simple machines?

Javascript is not currently enabled on your browser.
If you do have Javascript enabled:
This site uses javascript to make the magic happen.
Please turn on javascript and reload this page, or use a more current browser (like Firefox)

Simple Machines Quiz

Rating:	Report a mistake
Published: April 16th, 2009
Category: Science
Plays: 91,764

Tags: Classical Quizzes, Physics Quizzes, simple, engineering, machine

Loading friend results....

Comment below threshold: show it

	aLyJ:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 16:20 GMT	0 points
	5 out of 6 and i totally forgot about the one i missed. I kept thinking scissors for some reason.

	Koltrane:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 16:21 GMT	10 points
	Wheel didn't take for Wheel and Axle? hmmm...oh well, got all the others except for wedge.

	Jaspers:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 16:25 GMT	5 points
	Axle is imperative for wheel and axle. It's the rotary force and torque that produces the mechanical advantage.

	awol:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 16:29 GMT	2 points
	is there really a difference between inclined plane and incline?

Comment below threshold: show it

	truth in advertising:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 16:38 GMT	41 points
	Wouldn't ramp count for inclined plane?

Comment below threshold: show it

	Stoudty:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:09 GMT	9 points
	Mr. Hahn (my 5th grade science teacher) would be disappointed with my performace in this quiz

dan8402:

Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:14 GMT

4 points

@ truth...thats what I tried too.

	Arthur:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:17 GMT	4 points
	Forgot about wedge and forgot the "and axle" part of wheel >.

	jereboam:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:20 GMT	-3 points
	How about "slope" for "inclined plane"?

	BelowZero:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:23 GMT	3 points
	too specific for a few of them. But I used 'ramp' and 'wheel' back in grade school

	MrEnglishman:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:23 GMT	0 points
	@jereboam - yes, I tried "slope" too. I also only put a simple "Wheel". So 4/6 for me.

	Thalia:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:27 GMT	1 point
	@Jeremy... don't know about the Scientific Method but the Mohs hardness scale is in fact already here: http://www.sporcle.com/games/minerals.php

	Stef Hirano:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 17:32 GMT	9 points
	ramp should be accepted as "inclined plane"

	DWolf:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:01 GMT	3 points
	@isstvan: You kind of answered the opposite of awol's question. I think he was more asking why "incline" wasn't sufficient for "inclined plane", rather than the difference between an inclinded and a non-inclided plane.

	ricainrico:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:02 GMT	3 points
	I always envisioned a screw being in fact an inclined plane/ramp that just wraps around itself. And speaking of which, isn't a wedge (like a door wedge)also just two inclined planes whose action relies on friction rather than elevation ? I always memorized the wheel, the ramp, the lever, and the pulley as the 4 simple machines.

	y2jdilemma:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:07 GMT	2 points
	Forgot the first one, and thought it was in alphabetical order by the I, not the P...ah well.

	davidr:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:11 GMT	5 points
	@ricainrico: Some people view a screw as a curved inclined plane but a screw converts rotational motion into linear motion, which an ordinary inclined plane doesn't. A wedge is usually thought of as a moving inclined plane — for example, the kind of wedge that you'd hammer into something to split it. So, if you push your door wedge under the door, you're using it as a wedge; if you pull the door onto the wedge, it's an inclined plane. :-)

Comment below threshold: show it

	ubernora:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:36 GMT	9 points
	haha, I kept guessing wheel and axle separately. I was getting frustrated too.

	PhilSandifer:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 18:54 GMT	-1 points
	I have, however, often seen "gear" listed as a simple machine as well - more often, actually, than I've seen "wedge."

Comment below threshold: show it

	mjenks:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 19:17 GMT	4 points
	Awesome. Embarrassed by the ones I missed, but awesome nonetheless.

	Keonyn:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 19:18 GMT	5 points
	I've never seen a list different from the one provided here. A gear is just a type of wheel and axel.

	Ghostbear:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 19:35 GMT	0 points
	I suppose i never questioned it in seventh grade but isnt a screw simply an inclined plane and a wedge rolled into one.

	Shaft41:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 19:48 GMT	21 points
	A lesson I learned from the mistake of another teacher: if teaching junior high kids about simple machines, don't have them do a project and send them to a computer to search the word "screw."

	Frank:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 20:21 GMT	5 points
	Hrmph.. no internal combustion engine huh?

Comment below threshold: show it

	Zycoolaman:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 20:44 GMT	-2 points
	maybe "ramp" should be accepted for "inclined plane" and either "wheel" or "axle" accepted for "wheel and axle"...?

	jas1548:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 20:48 GMT	1 point
	I'm a high school senior who hasn't had to think about simple machines since 4th grade science class... Got 5/6, which isn't bad for it having been so long... but I forgot wheel and axle. :/

	newenglander:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 20:55 GMT	-4 points
	I just studied these in science and tech ed, and only got three.lol

	melissa:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 21:18 GMT	7 points
	I have to give a shout-out to the (U.S.) kids' TV show "Zula Patrol" for getting any of these - it's a cartoon designed to increase early science literacy (not that my 5-year-old cares; he just likes the stories). They just aired an episode on simple machines, and I caught it during my morning coffee. See, you never know when Sporcle will make mundane bits of your life relevant!

	AlabasterS:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 21:36 GMT	-4 points
	I typed in ramp and wheel!

	Soap00:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 21:44 GMT	0 points
	Thank you Gizmos and Gadgets!

	TIMTEBOW15:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 21:45 GMT	1 point
	sorry mrs palmisano (my 3rd grade science teacher)

	Daytman:	Apr 16th, 2009 at 21:47 GMT	2 points
	Ugh, I missed wheel and axle because I put wheel, and I missed pulley because I put rope and pulley. I blame my physics teacher.

Comment below threshold: show it