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Questions for Discussion: Levers: Raising the Moai on Easter Island
Using a sketch, explain how the force applied by a lever is affected by its distance from the fulcrum.
In what ways is using a screwdriver to remove the lid of a paint can similar to using a lever to turn the moai on its sled? Can you think of other everyday examples in which levers or lever actions are used to make jobs easier?
Why should the task get easier once the moai passes the 45-degree angle?
Why was friction important as the moai was raised?
Before modern machines, humans built and moved many large things using simple mechanical principles. Do you think that those works (Easter Island, the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge) are more significant than the current large-scale projects that people build (skyscrapers, sporting venues)? Explain why or why not.
