In class last week, we did the pyramid lab. We pulled weights up a ramp to a specific height. After each trial, we changed the length of the ramp. The height remained the same. We used the lab probe to figure out how much force was required to pull the weights up the various lengths of the ramp.Our group found out that it is impossible to decrease the force required to move something without increasing the distance required to do it.
While the force and distance changed, the area of all the graphs were the same. This is because the height that the weight is being lifted is constant and therefore, the amount of work or energy required for the task is constant as well. The ramp only manipulates the levels of distance and force required.
Simple machines are everywhere in our day today lives. For homework, we had to watch a theory that showed the Egyptians creating simple machines to build their pyramids. To me, it seems like people prefer less force over shorter distances. We would rather walk up a long ramp than a short flight of steps. It seems that you can find the formula "work=fd" in almost every motion of our lives.
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