INCLINED PLANES RAMP IT UP
UNCORRECTED GALLEY
SIMPLE MACHINES FOR KIDS
Diehn Illustrated by Micah Rauch PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE
Andi
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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 Diehn
Pub date: October 2023
Softcover: 9781647411022, $13.95
Hardcover: 9781647410995, $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!
EXPLORE THE BIOMES IN THIS PICTURE BOOK SCIENCE SET!
ISBN Softcover: 978-1-64741-102-2
ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-64741-099-5
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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Printed
Ramp it up! Science style.
Strap wheels on your feet and roll, Thanks to a simple machine. (Or two!)
Heavy load? No problem!
Use a ramp to slide up, slide down, whatever you need to move.
Dump it out! Turn a flat floor into an inclined plane, And watch the dirt crash to the ground!
Time to dig and water and plant and weed and eat
What you grow in your garden dirt.
Poem 1
Imagine building a snowman.
The first snowball is pretty easy—you just roll it to the size you want and let it rest on the ground. The second snowball might be a little harder—once it’s big enough, you need to lift it on top of the first snowball.
2
And the third snowball?
That’s a doozy!
3
What can you do if your snowball is TOO HEAVY to lift onto the stack?
Onething youcanuseis ARAMP!
4
That ramp is a kind of simple machine—an inclined plane!
It’s much LESS WORK to roll a heavy snowball up a slope than it is to lift it.
5
Simple machines help us do work.
An inclined plane is a FLAT, SLOPING surface that makes it easier to move heavy things (like snowballs) from low ground to high ground. That heavy thing is called the load.
An inclined plane also makes it EASIER to L O WER SOMETHING by sliding it instead of dropping it.
6
Imagine dropping that snowman’s head on the ground— splat!
7
Have you ever been to a skate park?
A skate park has LOTS of inclined planes.
Skaters perform tricks by whizzing down ramps and LEAPING into the air.
8
A simple machine is a device that changes the direction or strength of a force.
On their way down, they land back on the ramp and coast .
Where else do you see ramps?
9
Other simple machines include screws, levers, wedges, pulleys, and wheels and axles.
You might see a ramp in front of the library or your school. 10
People who have a lot to carry or who use a wheelchair find it EASIER to take the ramp.
11
Inclined planes aren’t always smooth and FLAT. Stairs are another example of an inclined plane!
Imagine climbing a ladder that’s STRAIGHT UP and down to get to the upstairs of your house. That’s going to take a lot of energy.
12
An escalator is an inclined plane that moves!
Spread those steps out in the shape of a ramp, and you have a staircase.
Much easier!
Especially when it’s time to come D O WN.
13
Some inclined planes are fixed in place.
Think of a ramp that cars DRIVE UP to get to the highway or the slide you whizz down at the playground.
14
Other inclined planes have to be activated.
Have you ever watched a dump truck dump its load? The driver raises the back of the truck to form an inclined plane and all of the stuff slides out! The back goes from FLAT to SLOPED to do its work as a ramp.
15
Remember, simple machines make it easier for us to do work. How?
A mechanical advantage makes your pushing and pulling forces much more powerful than when you use only your own muscles.
16
By giving us something called mechanical advantage.
17
An inclined plane gives you a mechanical advantage that makes pushing a load UP A R A MP take a lot less energy than LIFTING it.
But it’s not always easy.
Friction makes it more difficult.
Friction is a force that slows down objects when they rub against each other.
When you push a heavy box UP A R A MP, the friction between the box and the ramp slows you down.
18
Put that box on wheels and most of the friction goes away!
When you use a ramp to ease a HEAVY object to the ground, friction is going to slooooooow that heavy thing down. That can be a good thing!
Rub your hands together. What happens?
The heat you feel is friction!
19
Inclined planes are very useful and easy to make.
Early humans probably used them to move heavy objects, just like we do today.
20
Ancient Romans built SLOPING
AQUEDUCTS
so water could flow from its source to people in towns and cities.
21
Ancient Egyptians used inclined planes when they built the pyramids! They moved ENORMOUS BLOCKS of stone over ramps to form those HUGE monuments.
22
23
Have you heard of Stonehenge?
Stonehenge is a ring of ENORMOUS STONE COLUMNS that stand in a field in England.
24
Historians think that about 4,500 years ago, ancient humans used ramps made from dirt to settle these MASSIVE STONES.
Do we know this for sure? No! Dirt ramps don’t last over time. But we can wonder!
25
You can find inclined planes all around your neighborhood! Look and make a list! A water slide A ra mp on a moving van A funnel A slanted roof 26
27
Activity Time!
Make a Marble Run!
What You Need cardboard tubes - tapebooks or blocks - marbles
What You Do
• Ask an adult to cut the cardboard tubes the long way so you can see inside. These are your inclined planes!
• Tape the pieces of tubes together to make longer and shorter runs.
• Stack books or blocks and balance your runs across these, making a pattern for the marbles to roll down.
Try It Out! Put a marble at a high end and watch it make its way down. Do you need to move your runs for the marble to roll all the way to the end?
28
aqueduct: a channel for moving water, usually in the form of a bridge over a valley.
force: a push or pull that changes an object’s motion.
friction: a force that slows down objects when they rub against each other.
inclined plane: a sloped surface that connects a lower level to a higher level.
load: an applied force or weight.
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.
slope: a surface that has one end or side that is at a higher level than the other.
Glossary
29
SIMPLE MACHINES
Pulley Screw Wheel
Incline Plane Wedge Lever
30
CHILDREN’S NONFICTION PICTURE BOOK
AGES: 5–9 • GUIDED READING LEVEL: N
How does a dump truck dump all the dirt out of its truck bed? It turns that bed into a ramp!
A ramp is another word for an inclined plane, and the inclined plane 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 Inclined Planes Ramp It Up: Simple Machines for Kids, young engineers learn how inclined planes are flat, sloping surfaces that make it easier to move heavy things from lower ground to higher ground instead of lifting them.
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
focus on science
Inclined Planes Ramp It Up is part of a six-book set in the Picture Book Science series, designed to introduce young engineers to physical science concepts.
