WHEELS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND
SIMPLE MACHINES FOR KIDS
Diehn Illustrated by Micah Rauch
Andi
PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE
NOT FOR RESALE
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: 9781647411107, $13.95
Hardcover: 9781647411077, $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: M
Bisac: JU VENILE NONFICTION / Technology / How Things Work - Are Made
OTHER BOOKS IN THE PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE: SIMPLE MACHINES SET!
WHEELS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND
SIMPLE MACHINES FOR KIDS
Andi Diehn Illustrated by Micah Rauch
EXPLORE THE BIOMES IN THIS PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE SET!
November 2023, Job #1041603
ISBN Softcover: 978-1-64741-110-7
ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-64741-107-7
Educational Consultant, Marla Conn
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to Nomad Press
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in
Fight against friction—
With wheels!
Wagons, bikes, roller skates, and wheelbarrows
All use wheels to get from here to there and back to here.
Potter’s wheels: important for making art!
Waterwheels: important for doing work before electricity!
And a Ferris wheel: important for having fun at the county fair!
Poem 1
If you were designing a wheelbarrow, how would you make it move so you could easily push it?
2
SKIS ? STILTS?
Springs?
3
A WHEEL AND AXLE!
You might decide to use the same thing people have used for thousands of years.
4
A wheel and axle is a simple machine.
Simple machines are devices that make it easier for us to do work. How?
By giving us mechanical advantage.
A mechanical advantage makes your pushing and pulling force much more powerful than when you use only your own muscles.
5
There are two parts to a wheel and axle. The round wheel part lets it roll along the ground easily. What would happen if wheels were square?
Think of something with wheels, such as a scooter, and imagine how square wheels would feel!
6
Other simple machines include inclined planes, levers, wedges, ramps, and screws.
7
The other part is the axle. The axle is the ROD that goes THROUGH THE CENTER of the wheel and stays in place while the wheel moves around it.
8
The axle is also attached to whatever the wheel is part of— car, bike, or train. Without an axle, the wheel would simply bounce away down the road, not useful to anyone!
9
Imagine pushing a wheelbarrow that has SKIS instead of a WHEEL .
Why?
That might be pretty fun if there’s snow on the ground, but if you have to PUSH THE WHEELBARROW over dirt or pebbles, the skis won’t work very well.
There would be too much friction between the skis and the dirt.
Friction is a type of force.
10
And the HEAVIER THE STUFF you put in your wheelbarrow, the MORE FRICTION there would be.
Rub your hands together back and forth very quickly!
What do you feel? That’s friction!
11
But replace those SKIS with a WHEEL and you can push the wheelbarrow pretty easily.
12
When you LIFT up the handles and push, the wheel rolls along the ground with FAR LESS friction to push against.
13
Where else can you find a wheel and axle?
Think about how you make a bicycle move.
You push on the pedals.
Those pedals are connected to a chain, and that chain is connected to the wheels.
14
When you push on the pedals of a bike, that force spreads outward to the edges of the wheels, making the wheels roll along the ground.
Because axles attach the wheels to your bike, the whole bike follows the wheels and moves as one down the road.
15
What about the wheels on a car, truck, or bus?
These work in the same way, but instead of us powering them with our own feet, we have engines to provide the power for us.
16
17
Because pedaling a car would be A LOT OF WORK!
Humans have been using wheels and axles for thousands of years.
The very first wheels weren’t used for transportation at all.
They were pottery wheels!
18
19
A potter puts a mound of clay on a pottery wheel and, as the wheel moves, the potter can mold the clay into whatever they like—a bowl, a vase, or a cup.
Wheels began to appear on carts in societies in western Asia about 6,000 years ago. These wheels were SOLID and HEAVY.
Then, about 4,000 years ago, people got the idea of HOLLOWING out the wheel so it would be LIGHTER and even easier to move on its axle.
20
Now, wheels are designed to work best at whatever job they are meant to do.
Spiked wheels help vehicles move through snow or mud. THIN WHEELS can make a road bike speedy, since there’s less friction between the wheel and the road.
21
Have you ever seen a picture of a water wheel?
That’s a GIANT WHEEL set in a river. The water moved the wheel, and that force was used to do different kinds of work, such as grind wheat.
22
Before electricity, people used water wheels for all kinds of work.
23
24
Today, we can see wheels and axles performing many different jobs.
Like a Ferris wheel!
Or an electric fan.
You might even have a wheel in your kitchen drawer—a pizza cutter!
25
Wheels can also be found as part of another simple machine— a pulley!
In a pulley, a rope or chain is wrapped around a wheel, which can be very useful in LIFTING HEAVY objects.
26
around your neighborhood. Where do you spot wheels? 27
Look
Water Wheel!
What You Need
A sturdy straw - Two paper platesFour paper cups - Tape
What You Do
• Poke holes through the center of each paper plate.
• Tape the paper cups on one of the plates so the openings point out in four different directions. Leave the hole open in the middle.
• Tape the other plate to the other side of the cups, so it looks like a sandwich with the cups in the middle.
• Thread the straw through the holes.
Try It! Holding onto each side of the straw, hold your water wheel under running water. What happens? What force is moving your water wheel?
Activity Time!
28
axle: a rod on which a wheel rotates. force: a push or pull that changes an object’s motion. A force also means to make someone do something.
friction: a force that slows down objects when they rub against each other.
mechanical advantage: the amount a machine increases or changes a force to make a task easier.
simple machine: a device that changes the direction or strength of a force.
wheel: a circular object that revolves on an axle and is fixed below a vehicle or other object to make it to move easily over the ground.
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: M
If you were designing a wheelbarrow, how would you make it move easily when you pushed it? Skis? Stilts? Springs?
How about wheels? The wheel and axle is a simple machine that has been used for centuries to make work easier for humans.
In Wheels Make the World Go Round: Simple Machines for Kids, young engineers learn how wheels work along with axles and how they use mechanical advantage to make it easier to move heavy objects from one place to another.
A poem, glossary, and handson 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
Wheels Make the World Go Round is part of a six-book set in the Picture Book Science series, designed to introduce young engineers to physical science concepts.