| Questions | 5 |
| Topics | Normal Force, Specific Gravity, Torque, Types of Simple Machines, Wheel and Axle |
Normal force (FN) represents the force a surface exerts when an object presses against it.
Specific gravity is the ratio of the density of equal volumes of a substance and water and is measured by a hyrdometer.
Torque measures force applied during rotation: τ = rF. Torque (τ, the Greek letter tau) = the radius of the lever arm (r) multiplied by the force (F) applied. Radius is measured from the center of rotation or fulcrum to the point at which the perpendicular force is being applied. The resulting unit for torque is newton-meter (N-m) or foot-pound (ft-lb).
The six types of simple machines are the lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw.
A wheel and axle uses two different diameter wheels mounted to a connecting axle. Force is applied to the larger wheel and large movements of this wheel result in small movements in the smaller wheel. Because a larger movement distance is being translated to a smaller distance, force is increased with a mechanical advantage equal to the ratio of the diameters of the wheels. An example of a wheel and axle is the steering wheel of a car.