INCLINED PLANE
• An inclined plane is any slope or ramp.
• It makes it easier to lift a heavy object.
Figure 61: In ancient times, people and animals used to reach their destination by choosing steeper ramp
• We call it an "inclined plane" because it is a plane - a flat surface - and it is inclined - sloped, not level.
• All kinds of animals use inclined planes when they choose their path up a steep hill, and people have used them about 200,000 years ago.
• By the time of Old Kingdom Egypt, about 2500 BC, people were building their own earth ramps to move heavy stones for the Pyramids.
• The first staircases invented were also a kind of inclined plane.
• It is easier to push or roll an object up an inclined plane than to lift it directly.
• A sloping plank is used while loading barrels into a truck.
Example:
Figure 62: A ramp, stairs, parking ramp
Figure 63: An escalator, roller coaster