LEVERS
UNCORRECTED GALLEY
NOT FOR RESALE
LESSEN THE LOAD
SIMPLE MACHINES
FORKIDS
by Micah Rauch
Andi Diehn IllustratedPICTURE BOOK SCIENCE
Thank you for previewing a new book coming in Fall 2023 from Nomad Press!
Our newest set of Picture Book Science books features simple machines—screws, pulleys, wedges, inclined planes, levers, and wheels and axles!
Kids ages 5 to 8 love learning about simple machines, including the physics and history behind them. Did Archimedes really move an entire ship by himself using only a pulley? Were the pyramids made with the help of ramps? And how do all of these deceptively simple devices work, anyway?
Hilarious illustrations featuring a diverse cast of characters (and their pets) make learning accessible and fun. Plus, every book in the set includes a hands-on activity designed to encourage all types of learners. Photographs of simple machines in action and a glossary round out the reading experience to create a full experiential learning adventure that aligns with Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards!
And every book from Nomad Press is paired with a free Classroom Guide, downloadable from our website, nomadpress.net/the-learning-center.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Sincerely,
Andi DiehnPub date: November 2023
Softcover: 9781647410988, $13.95
Hardcover: 9781647410957, $20.95
eBook: all formats available, $6.99
Specs: 9.5 x 9.5, 32 pages, color interior
Reading Level: Ages 5–9
Interest Level: Grades K–4
GRL: N
Bisac: JU VENILE NONFICTION / Technology / How Things Work - Are Made
OTHER BOOKS IN THE PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE: SIMPLE MACHINES SET!
LESSEN THE LOAD
SIMPLE MACHINES FORKIDS
LEVERS
Andi
Diehn Illustrated by Micah Rauch
EXPLORE THE BIOMES IN THIS PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE SET!
ISBN Softcover: 978-1-64741-098-8
ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-64741-095-7
Educational Consultant, Marla Conn
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to Nomad Press
PO Box 1036, Norwich, VT 05055 www.nomadpress.net
Nomad Press
division of Nomad Communications
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©
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use. The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.
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2023 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.
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by CGB Printers, North Mankato, Minnesota, United States
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in the United States. Check out more titles at www.nomadpress.net
Printed
See? Saw!
Two friends on either end.
Up? Down!
Use a lever to push each other high into the air.
Find a mess on the floor?
Get the broom and sweep!
That broom?
Yep, it’s a lever.
Fish? Fish!
Cast out and reel in.
Sore arm? Nope! Not even after hours of using a lever—your fishing pole!
1
Have you ever visited a playground with a seesaw?
2
3
You
and a friend can go UP and DOWN, UP and DOWN.
4
If you both weigh the same, going UP and DOWN is easy.
But what if your friend is heavier than you?
You will need to PUSH HARD with your legs to get your friend to go up.
5
That seesaw is a simple machine— a lever! A lever is made up of a beam and a fulcrum.
The BEAM is the part of the seesaw where you and your friend sit.
The FULCRUM is the base that the seesaw balances on.
6
The kid GOING UP on the seesaw is called the load.
The other kid uses what’s called force to LIFT UP their friend.
7
A simple machine is a device that helps us do work—and play!
Other simple machines include screws, levers, wedges, pulleys, and wheels and axles.
8
Seesaws are a fun example of levers!
But levers also help us do many kinds of jobs. They are especially good at helping us lift HEAVY THINGS.
How do levers help us lift heavy things?
By giving us mechanical advantage.
9
Imagine there’s a big rock, TOO HEAVY to lift, right where you want to ride your bike. How can you move it? Use a pry bar! Scoot one end of the bar underneath the rock. Settle the bar on a fulcrum, and PUSH DOWN on the other end.
10
A mechanical advantage makes your pushing and pulling force much more powerful than when you use only your own muscles.
What happens?
The lever makes your pushing force stronger.
The ROCK MOVES and is no longer in the way of your bike riding!
You’re free to zoooommm!
11
There are three different types of levers.
FIRST CLASS LEVER:
The fulcrum is between you and the load, and closer to the load. A pry bar and a seesaw, are both examples of first class levers.
LEVER
LOAD
FULCRUM 12
So is an oar! Your hand is pushing andpulling the oar at one end. The oar rests in an oarlock, which is also the fulcrum. The paddle is dragged through the water, which is the load.
A load is anything that requires a lot of force to move—like water!
13
SECOND CLASS LEVER:
The load is between you and the fulcrum. A wheelbarrow is an example of a second class lever.
LEVER
14
FULCRUM LOAD
The bucket is the load and the wheel in front is the fulcrum. The handles of the wheelbarrow are the lever you LIFT to move it.
Other examples of second class levers include bottle openers and nutcrackers.
15
LEVER
THIRD CLASS LEVER:
Think of a fishing pole —a very FUN third class lever!
Here you put force on the lever between the fulcrum and the load.
FULCRUM LOAD
16
The fish is the load, the fishing rod is the lever, and the handle of the fishing rod is the fulcrum. You are putting FORCE in between the handle and the fish as youPULL your catch out of the water.
A broom is also a third class lever. The fulcrum is your hand on the top of the broom and the load is the dirt on the floor. You put FORCE in the middle of the broom.
You know where else you can find levers?
17
In your own body!
Your arms work as levers.
When you LIFT an object and carry it in your hand, you are using your arm as a lever.
18
How about your feet?
Sure!
Try this . . .
Stand up and RAISE YOURSELF up on your TIPTOES a few times. You’ve just used your feet as levers. The load is your body weight, your muscles are doing the work, and your toe joints are the fulcrum.
19
Who was the first person to use a lever?
Early humans used pieces of wood and long stones as levers as they figured how to till soil and grow food to eat.
20
Today,
21
we use hoes and rakes for the same kind of work. All levers!
About 7,000 years ago, levers were used as balance scales in the ancient Middle East.
A balance scale is used to weigh things. If you put something you know weighs a pound on one side of the scale, you can put a bag of sugar on the other side of the scale, and when the lever is PERFECTLY STRAIGHT, you know you’ve got one pound of sugar!
22
Look at this picture. What class lever is a balance scale?
23
Ancient Egyptians used a tool called a shaduf to water their fields.
A shaduf uses a lever to dip a bucket into the Nile River. A worker swings the bucket over the fields so the plants can get a drink.
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Ancient
thinker
once
25
Greek
Archimedes
said, “Give me the place to st and, and I shall move the earth.” He was talking about using a lever!
Levers have been helping us do work for thousands of years!
Once you start looking for them, you’ll find levers everywhere!
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27
Activity Time!
Lift It!
What You Need
ruler - binder clipobjects with different weights, such as a box of macaroni, a can of soup, or a small stuffed animal
What You Do
• Ask an adult to help you take the silver clips out of the base of the binder clip. This is going to be your fulcrum.
• Balance your ruler across your fulcrum. This is your beam.
• Place one of your lighter objects on one end of your lever. What happens?
• Push down on the other end of your lever. What happens?
Try This! Try lifting objects with different weights. For heavier things, move your hand up the ruler— is it easier to lift the heavier objects that way?
28
beam: a rigid, horizontal structure that carries a load. force: a push or pull that changes an object’s motion. A force also means to make someone do something.
fulcrum: the point on which a lever turns or pivots.
lever: a simple machine made of a rigid bar, or beam, that pivots on a fulcrum.
load: an applied force or weight.
mechanical advantage: the amount a machine increases or changes a force to make a task easier.
pivot: to turn or move on a fixed spot.
shaduf : a water-lifting device. simple machine: a device that changes the direction or strength of a force.
Glossary
29
SIMPLE MACHINES
Pulley Screw Wheel
Incline Plane Wedge Lever
30
focus on science
CHILDREN’S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK
AGES: 5–8 • GUIDED READING LEVEL: N
Have you ever played on a seesaw?
You were using a lever!
A lever is one of six simple machines that are designed to make different kinds of work easier. Lifting, pulling, pushing—all these tasks are more efficient when you use a simple machine.
In Levers Lessen the Load: Simple Machines for Kids, young engineers learn how levers and fulcrums can help us move far more weight than we can on our own. Need to lift a heavy rock? Use a lever! Need to push a log out of the way? Use a lever!
A poem, glossary, and hands-on activity make for a fun and experiential reading experience!
Praise for Forces by Andi Diehn
“Children, parents, and teachers alike can enjoy learning the charming, often funny, relatable, and accessible science within this Picture Book Science series offering.”
Booklist Starred Review
Levers Lessen the Load is part of a six-book set in the Picture Book Science series, designed to introduce young engineers to physical science concepts.