New Inclined Plane Gizmo

Anybody who has carried furniture into a moving van, wheeled a chair up an access ramp, driven on a switch-back road or skied down a bunny-slope understands the usefulness of inclined planes. Inclined planes can reduce the effort needed to lift an object up or slow the descent of a falling object.

Both aspects of inclined planes can be investigated in our new Inclined Plane - Simple Machine Gizmo. Observe the forces acting on a brick as it slides down a ramp, then measure the force required to push the brick back up. This Gizmo can be used at a variety of levels, from middle-school to AP Physics. (For a real challenge, check out the proof at the end of the Exploration Guide - feel free to write to customer support if you need a hint!)

Our library now boasts three Gizmos that can be used to study simple machines (the other two are Pulley Lab and Torque and Moment of Inertia), and more are planned for the future. Enjoy!