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.

This online resource discusses the distribution of earth's water.

There are many different processes and phenomena that emit electromagnetic radiation. Humans have taken advantage of many of these processes to develop technologies that use electromagnetic radiation.

This YouTube video will guide you through a fun activity where you will draw the earth's continents and oceans.

The beauty of a coral reef, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, the X-ray revealing a broken bone, even microwave popcorn—all are brought to us by electromagnetic waves. The list of the various types of electromagnetic waves, ranging from radio transmission waves to nuclear gamma-ray (γ-ray) emissions, is interesting in itself.

Even more intriguing is that all of these different phenomena are manifestations of the same thing—electromagnetic waves (see Figure 15.1). What are electromagnetic waves? How are they created, and how do they travel? How can we understand their widely varying properties? What is the relationship between electric and magnetic effects? These and other questions will be explored.

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.

Photoelectric materials emit electrons when they absorb light of a high-enough frequency.

This online resource discusses the importance of the ocean, the layers and composition of the ocean and how it moderates climates.

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.

This online resource investigates the features and topology of the ocean floor, the effects of wave erosion and the landforms created by coastal depositions.