The six types of simple machines are the lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw.

Potential energy is the energy of an object by virtue of its position relative to other objects. It is energy that has the potential to be converted into kinetic energy.

An inclined plane is a simple machine that reduces the force needed to raise an object to a certain height. Work equals force x distance and, by increasing the distance that the object travels, an inclined plane reduces the force necessary to raise it to a particular height. In this case, the mechanical advantage is to make the task easier. An example of an inclined plane is a ramp.

Coefficient of friction (μ) represents how much two materials resist sliding across each other.  Smooth surfaces like ice have low coefficients of friction while rough surfaces like concrete have high μ.

The six basic bridge forms are beam, truss, arch, cantilever, cable, and suspension.