Ramps student designed investigation

Egyptian pyramids are great monument of a great civilization that was born seven thousand years ago. The ancient Egyptians built more than 90 royal pyramids, from about 2630 BC until about 1530 BC. During that time, the pyramid shape evolved from a series of stepped terraces to sloped pyramidal shape.

The first pyramid, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, was constructed during the reign of King Djoser (Zoser) (2630 BC-2611 BC). The largest pyramid in Egypt is the one built for King Khufu, in Giza. Khufu’s pyramid, known as the Great Pyramid, is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World that still exists.

Egyptian pyramids were originally built to serve as tombs for kings and queens. After a ruler died, his or her body was carefully treated and wrapped to preserve it as a mummy. According to ancient Egyptian belief, the pyramid, where the mummy was placed, provided a place for the king to pass into the afterlife.

There are many theories of how the pyramids were built but no body knows for sure the process ancient Egyptians followed to build the pyramids. One theory suggests that ramps were built to drag the blocks of building stones on sledges to the top. There are some evidence that this theory might be close to the truth as some parts of the mentioned ramps were found near building sites. These ramps were made of bricks and earth rubble and they were strong enough to carry the huge blocks used to build the pyramids.

Stones used in the construction process were quarried from remote or local quarries where they were either transported using wooden sleds as the wheel had not yet existed and even it had it wouldn't be of much use due to the heavy weight of the blocks.

Energy: Ability to do work

Work= Force x Distance

Force: A Push or a Pull

Definitions:

Inclined Plane

Inclined Plane The Egyptians used simple machines to build the

pyramids. One method was to build a very long incline out of dirt that rose upward to the top of the pyramid very gently. The blocks of stone were placed on large logs (another type of simple machine - the wheel and axle) and pushed slowly up the long, gentle inclined plane to the top of the pyramid.

Recording your resultsAngle of ramp

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average force to pull

Lifting straight up

Dragging along the ground

45 degrees

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Graphing and questionsWhich of your ramp took the least force to

pull the block along?Which ramp took the most force to pull the

block up?What is a disadvantage of a shallow ramp?How does what you have learned today

affect how you think the Egyptians built the pyramids?

Inclined Planes An inclined plane is

a flat surface that is higher on one end

Inclined planes make the work of moving things easier

Inclined Plane -Mechanical Advantage

The mechanical advantage of an inclined plane is equal to the length of the slope divided by the height of the inclined plane.

While the inclined plane produces a mechanical advantage, it does so by increasing the distance through which the force must move.

Screw

The mechanical advantage of an screw can be calculated by dividing the circumference by the pitch of the screw.

Pitch equals 1/ number of turns per inch.

Wedges Two inclined

planes joined back to back.

Wedges are used to split things.