How Do You Lift a Lion?

by Robert E. Wells, Robert E. Wells (Illustrator)

Overview

How do you lift a lion? With a machine that's big and powerful with clanking metal parts? There are machines like that. But others have only a few moving parts. In fact, some machines are so simple that they don't seem like machines at all—like the wheel, the lever, and the pulley. These machines can make work easy—even if you're trying to lift a lion!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807534212
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	01/01/1996
Series:	Wells of Knowledge Science Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	419,046
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Robert E. Wells is the author and illustrator of many award-winning science books for children, including Can You Count to a Googol? and Why Do Elephants Need the Sun?. He lives with his wife in Washington.

Robert E. Wells is the author and illustrator of many award-winning science books for children, including Can You Count to a Googol? and Why Do Elephants Need the Sun?. He lives with his wife in Washington.

Read an Excerpt

How Do You Lift a Lion?

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By Robert E. Wells

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company

Copyright © 1996 Robert E. Wells
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3421-2

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CHAPTER 1

DID YOU EVER TRY TO LIFT A LION?

You'd have to be awfully strong.

It's because of the force of GRAVITY. Gravity pulls objects downward. When that object is as massive as a lion, it pulls pretty hard.

With a LEVER, you can lift a heavy weight with much less effort.

The main part of a lever is a bar or rod which balances, or pivots, on a FULCRUM.

If the FORCE side is longer than the LOAD side, you will have LEVERAGE. Leverage adds force to your own strength. With a force side this long, you could lift a lion!

So, if you had a lever with a handle THIS long, maybe you could lift them a little!

Gravity is pulling down on that panda. And there's also FRICTION between the ground and the pallet. Friction, or resistance, happens when two surfaces rub together. The more weight pushing on the surfaces, the more friction there is.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells. Copyright © 1996 Robert E. Wells. Excerpted by permission of ALBERT WHITMAN & Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"This book is an introduction to three simple machines: the lever, the pulley, and the wheel. Lifting lions, pulling pandas, and raising a basket of bananas are the tasks the devices are used for. The humorous illustrations both inform and amuse the reader."—The Horn Book Guide

"A basic introduction to levers, wheels, and pulleys. As two children lift a lion, pull a panda, and deliver a basket of bananas to a baboon party, Wells offers explanations for how and why these simple machines work. The hand-lettered text identifies technical terms such as fulcrum, force, friction, and other such words (also included in a glossary)."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Gr 2-4A basic introduction to levers, wheels, and pulleys. As two children lift a lion, pull a panda, and deliver a basket of bananas to a baboon party, Wells offers explanations for how and why these simple machines work. The hand-lettered text identifies technical terms such as fulcrum, force, friction, and other such words (also included in a glossary). One might quibble with some of the statements, such as "Leverage adds force to your own strength." Also the pen-and-acrylic cartoons are mediocre in quality and are merely adequate at depicting the concepts. A great idea with a fair-to-middlin execution.Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NE

School Library Journal