Simple Machines
This simple machine consists of a wheel with a rope wrapped around it and is used to lift heavy loads.
What is a pulley?
This Marvel superhero is a genius inventor and engineer who built his own powered suit to escape captivity.
Who is Tony Stark?
This type of bridge is supported by cables, like the Golden Gate Bridge.
What is a suspension bridge?
In Big Hero 6, this inflatable robot was designed to help people as a personal healthcare companion.
Who is Baymax?
This big ship was called "unsinkable" but sank on its first trip in 1912 after hitting an iceberg
A ramp is an example of this simple machine that helps move objects to a higher or lower height with less force.
What is an Inclined plane?
In The Martian, this stranded astronaut uses engineering skills to survive on Mars.
Who is Mark Watney?
The Wright brothers are famous for inventing this type of transportation.
What is the airplane?
In Wall-E, this little robot is left to clean up Earth all by himself.
Who is Wall-E?
This tall tower in Italy leans because it was built on soft ground.
What is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
consists of a rigid bar that pivots around a fulcrum
What is a lever
This long-running TV show features a team of special effects engineers who test the validity of myths and urban legends.
This war, fought from 1939 to 1945, involved most of the world’s nations and introduced many new technologies.
What is World War II?
In The LEGO Movie, Emmet builds machines and gadgets out of LEGO bricks. What kind of engineer builds things like that in real life?
What is a mechanical engineer?
In 1986, a space shuttle exploded shortly after launch due to a faulty O-ring.
What is the Challenger?
This machine converts rotational motion into linear motion and is often used in vises or jar lids
What is a screw?
In Back to the Future, this eccentric inventor built a time machine out of a DeLorean.
Who is Doc Brown?
This ancient civilization is credited with building aqueducts and advanced road systems across its empire.
What is Rome?
In Iron Man, Tony Stark builds his first suit using scrap materials while trapped. What powers the suit?
What is an arc reactor?
This bridge in Washington State twisted apart and collapsed in 1940 due to strong winds and poor design.
What is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
A pair of scissors is an example of two simple machines working together. Name both.
What are a lever and a wedge?
The 2016 movie Hidden Figures highlights three brilliant Black women working as mathematicians and engineers at this American space agency.
What is NASA?
This famous canal, completed in 1914, revolutionized global trade by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
What is the Panama Canal?
In Apollo 13, NASA engineers on the ground had to quickly build a device to help the astronauts survive using only parts available in the spacecraft. What did they fix?
What is the carbon dioxide filter?
In 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded in this Ukrainian city, causing major radiation release.
What is Chernobyl?