Results

The amount of effort saved when using machines is called mechanical advantage (MA). Simple machines use mechanical advantage as a key property to their functionality, helping humans perform tasks that would require more force than a person could produce. We will use the lever as an example of a simple machine to illustrate the concept of mechanical advantage.

In this video we’re going to discover how to factorise quadratics that don’t have 1 as the coefficient of the x-squared term. These are called non-monic quadratics. We can do it by trial and error and just spotting the factors, but this takes a lot of trial an error. Luckily there is a different method we can use instead, which we will looks at in this video.

In this unit we will learn how these factors can affect the output of a simple machine. We will also learn about the difference between ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) and actual mechanical advantage (AMA), and how to apply your knowledge to calculate the efficiency of various simple machines.

Outcomes

In this course you will learn how to:

1. Solve quadratic equations by factorisation.
2. Solve quadratic equations by using the quadratic formula.
3. Solve simultaneous equations involving quadratic equations
4. Solve word problems involving quadratic equations.

In this lesson you will learn about:

• Simple machines
• Be able to identify different kinds of machines
• Identify classes of levers and pulleys
• Determine mechanical advantage of a lever and pulleys
• Understand and determine the advantage of an inclined plane
• Describe and determine the advantage of a screw jack
• Describe and determine the advantage of a wheel and axel
• Describe and determine the advantage of a hydraulic press

What are simple machines? Simple machines are tools that make work easier. They have few or no moving parts. These machines use energy to do work with one movement. They make our work easier by letting us use less mechanical effort to move an object.

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Solve equations with a single variable which are called linear equations
• Solve equations with a single variable that is squared (quadratic equations) by factorisation.

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Solve a quadratic equation by completing the square.

By the end of this unit you will be able to:

• Apply the zero-product law.
• Solve rational quadratic equations which have fractions with the unknown in the denominator.
• Factorise quadratic expressions to solve for the unknown variable.

There are a few different ways to solve quadratics: factorising, using the quadratic formula or by completing the square. In this video we look at solving by factorising.