Simple machines make work easier to do. But how? Join Joan at the Discovery Center of Idaho as she tries various experiments with simple machines. Science Trek is available to stream on pbs.org and ...

Simple machines make work easier, not less work, says Rick Crosslin, scientist. He joined us today to demonstrate how simple machines work. In our case, Randy was the “load” and Amber was the “effort.

When you push or pull with a simple machine, you are applying a force and doing work. And, if you get more force out of a machine than you put into it, then that machine has a mechanical advantage.

A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called ...