Physics · Unit 4

Simple Machines

Tools that make work easier

A machine does not create energy. It trades force against distance, letting you apply less force over a longer distance to do the same work - and that trade is the whole of the subject.

The unit covers levers, ramps, pulleys, wheels and gears, and what making work easier actually means when the total work is unchanged.

This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 2. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 20
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-2

What this unit covers

Making Work Easier
Levers
Ramps and Inclined Planes
Pulleys
Wheels and Gears

Where this fits

Follows Pushes and Pulls. Work, Energy and Power formalises the trade-off.

Where people slip

A machine cannot reduce the work done, only the force required. Halving the effort means at least doubling the distance, and friction means you always pay a little extra.

How the unit is structured

Simple Machines runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 2 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 20 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Levers

Choose all that applyLevel 1
1. Which of these everyday tools are levers? Choose all that are.
- Scissorscorrect
- A crowbarcorrect
- A bottle openercorrect
- A mirror
Scissors, a crowbar and a bottle opener all turn on a fulcrum, so they are levers; a mirror is not.
Fact or fibLevel 1
2. Sitting farther from the middle of a see-saw makes it easier to lift the person on the other side.
Answer: True
The farther you sit from the fulcrum, the more turning effect you make, so lifting is easier.
Fill the blankLevel 1
3. You push down on one end of a lever to lift a heavy ____ on the other end.
- loadcorrect
- cloud
- sound
- colour
The load is the heavy thing a lever lifts when you push down on the other end.
Build the sentenceLevel 2
4. Build the balancing rule for a lever in equilibrium (the principle of moments).
Answer: clockwise moment equals anticlockwise moment
For a balanced lever the total clockwise moment equals the total anticlockwise moment about the fulcrum.
Guess the numberLevel 2
5. A lever has an effort arm of 200 cm and a load arm of 50 cm. What is its mechanical advantage?
Answer: 4 times
Mechanical advantage of a lever equals effort arm divided by load arm, so 200 divided by 50 is 4.
Match the pairsLevel 2
6. Match each part of a lever with its role.
Answer: Fulcrum = The fixed pivot point; Load = The weight being moved; Effort = The force you apply; Effort arm = Distance from fulcrum to effort
A lever has a fulcrum, a load to move, an effort you apply, and arms measured from the fulcrum.

Making Work Easier

Fact or fibLevel 1
7. A ramp lets you lift a load with less effort, but you have to move it a longer distance.
Answer: True
Machines trade force for distance, so a ramp needs less effort but a longer path than lifting straight up.
Fill the blankLevel 1
8. The push or pull you put into a machine to make it work is called the ____.
- effortcorrect
- load
- wheel
- rope
Effort is the force you put in; the load is the thing the machine moves for you.
Guess the numberLevel 1
9. How many kinds of classic simple machines are there (lever, pulley, wheel and axle, ramp, wedge and screw)?
Answer: 6 machines
There are six classic simple machines: the lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge and screw.
Match the pairsLevel 1
10. Match each simple machine to an everyday example of it.
Answer: Lever = a see-saw; Pulley = a flagpole; Inclined plane = a ramp; Wheel and axle = a rolling cart
A lever is like a see-saw, a pulley is used on a flagpole, an inclined plane is a ramp, and a wheel and axle is used on a rolling cart.
Build the sentenceLevel 2
11. Build the sentence describing what simple machines do.
Answer: Simple machines change the size or direction of a force
Simple machines make work easier by changing the size or direction of a force.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
12. Which of these can a simple machine do to make work easier?
- Increase the force applied to a loadcorrect
- Change the direction of a forcecorrect
- Create energy from nothing
- Remove all friction
Simple machines can increase the force applied to a load and change the direction of a force, but they cannot create energy or remove all friction.

Pulleys

Build the sentenceLevel 1
13. Build the sentence that says how a simple pulley works.
Answer: Pull the rope down to lift the load up
With a single pulley you pull the rope down and the load on the other end goes up.
Fact or fibLevel 1
14. Using more pulleys together can make a heavy load feel easier to lift.
Answer: True
Adding more pulleys spreads the load over more rope, so each pull needs less effort.
Fill the blankLevel 1
15. A flagpole uses a ____ to raise the flag to the top.
- pulleycorrect
- ramp
- lever
- magnet
A pulley at the top of a flagpole lets you pull the rope down to send the flag up.
Guess the numberLevel 1
16. How many wheels does a single simple pulley have?
Answer: 1 wheels
A single pulley has just one grooved wheel for the rope to run over.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
17. What does a pulley use to help lift a load?
- A wheel and a ropecorrect
- A magnet
- A battery
- A spring
A pulley is a wheel with a groove and a rope that runs over it to help lift loads.
Picture questionLevel 1
18. 🏗️ A tall building crane lifts heavy loads high up using which simple machine?
- A pulleycorrect
- A ramp
- A lever
- A gear
A crane uses pulleys and ropes so its motor can raise very heavy loads to the top.

Ramps and Inclined Planes

Fact or fibLevel 1
19. A long gentle ramp is easier to walk up than a short steep ramp.
Answer: True
A gentler, longer ramp needs less force at each step, so it feels easier than a steep one.
Fill the blankLevel 1
20. A ____ is a slope that helps you move a heavy load up to a higher place.
- rampcorrect
- wheel
- rope
- magnet
A ramp is a sloping surface, an inclined plane, that makes lifting loads easier.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
21. What is the scientific name for a ramp?
- An inclined planecorrect
- A pulley
- A lever
- A gear
A ramp is an inclined plane, which is just a flat sloping surface.
Guess the numberLevel 2
22. A ramp is 6 m long and rises to a height of 1.5 m. What is its ideal mechanical advantage?
Answer: 4 times
The ideal mechanical advantage of a ramp is its length divided by its height, so 6 divided by 1.5 is 4.
Match the pairsLevel 2
23. Match each inclined-plane machine with an everyday use.
Answer: Ramp = Loading a heavy box onto a truck; Wedge = Splitting wood with an axe; Screw = Holding two boards together; Staircase = Climbing to a higher floor
Ramps, wedges, screws, and staircases are all based on the inclined plane.
Odd one outLevel 2
24. Which of these is NOT based on the inclined plane?
- Pulleycorrect
- Wedge
- Screw
- Ramp
Wedges, screws and ramps are all forms of the inclined plane, but a pulley is a wheel-and-rope machine instead.

Wheels and Gears

Choose all that applyLevel 1
25. Which of these use wheels to help them move? Choose all that do.
- A carcorrect
- A bicyclecorrect
- A shopping cartcorrect
- A see-saw
A car, a bicycle and a shopping cart all roll on wheels; a see-saw does not use wheels.
Fact or fibLevel 1
26. Round wheels roll along much more easily than square wheels would.
Answer: True
Round wheels roll smoothly, while square corners would keep catching and stopping.
Fill the blankLevel 1
27. Toothed wheels that turn together to pass on movement are called ____.
- gearscorrect
- ramps
- levers
- ropes
Gears are wheels with teeth that lock together so one can turn another.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
28. What is the rod in the middle of a wheel that it turns on called?
- An axlecorrect
- A fulcrum
- A gear
- A rope
A wheel turns on a rod called an axle; together they make a wheel and axle.
Guess the numberLevel 2
29. A driver gear has 10 teeth and turns a driven gear with 40 teeth. What is the gear ratio?
Answer: 4 to 1
Gear ratio equals driven teeth divided by driver teeth, so 40 divided by 10 is 4.
Match the pairsLevel 2
30. Match each wheel-and-gear term with its meaning.
Answer: Gear = A wheel with teeth; Axle = The rod a wheel turns on; Cog = A single tooth on a gear; Gear ratio = Compares driven and driver teeth
Gears, axles, cogs, and gear ratios are the key parts and ideas of geared machines.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 17 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Listen and choose
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sequence recall
Sort into groups
Spell it
Tap the pairs
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Simple Machines

120 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about Simple Machines

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

How Levers and Pulleys Make Work EasierLevers and pulleys change the size or direction of a force. They do not remove the need for work, but they can trade a smaller force for movement over a greater distance.July 29, 2026 · 5 min read

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