What is a wedge? This stone hand-ax from Chennai, India is a kind of wedge.
A wedge is a kind of inclined plane
What is a wedge? Like screws, wedges are really a kind of inclined plane, but they are so useful that people give them their own category among the simple machines. A wedge is two inclined planes back to back against each other.
What’s an inclined plane?
What’s a screw?
More simple machines
All our physics articles
When were wedges invented?
Wedges evolved on their own long before people. Sharp teeth are a kind of wedge that cuts through meat and vegetables when fish or crocodiles eat something.
More about teeth
When did fish evolve?
People have been using wedges in Africa since the earliest Stone Age, about 2.6 million years ago. These early wedges were stone hand-axes, and their sharp edges let people cut a hunk of meat off a gazelle to eat, or cut branches for firewood. Probably people also used wooden wedges to split bigger pieces of wood into smaller pieces.
Early stone tools
Primates and early humans
Wedges and mechanical advantage
Wooden wedges to split a log
The mechanical advantage you get from a wedge depends on how thick it is. A thick short wedge will split things apart faster, but you’ll have to push down on it with more force – maybe hit it with a hammer. A thin long wedge will be easier to drive in, but it will take longer to split something.
Hammers and levers
Some examples of wedges
Today we have many different uses for wedges. A plow is a kind of wedge. A knife is a kind of wedge, and a fork is made of four little wedges.
What is a plow?
Forks, nails, and cheap steel
Razors and scissors are wedges too. So are doorstops. A nail is a kind of wedge, and so is the pointed nose of an airplane, that helps it cut through the air more efficiently.
So what is a wedge? Did you find out what you wanted to know about simple machines? Let us know in the comments!
Learn by doing – wedges
More about levers
More about simple machines
Bibliography and further reading about simple machines:
Why is there a crystal???
I’m sorry, Joshua, I don’t see a crystal here?
whats up!!!
Hi im doing this is school at 1:34! (;
hi
i like it,you did a good job,keep up the good work
nice work keep going you did a great job keep up the good work
Hi Leah, thanks for stopping by! If anyone at your school has a page you could link to us from, that would help us out a lot, so more students could use this site. Or, if you or your folks would like to sponsor our Patreon, it’s here: https://www.patreon.com/quatr_us. Every sponsored $1.00 gets the ads off an article so we can all enjoy reading without the distracting ads.
Is an axe a wedge?
Yes, an axe is a kind of wedge. Good job!
Hi
Hi Kale! Thanks for visiting!
Hi
What’s good I’m doing this in school
Hi Ryan, thanks for stopping by!
hi karen carr
Hi Nathaniel!
where is the screw SIMPLE MACHINE
Here you go! https://quatr.us/physics/screw-simple-machines-physics.htm
Is there any more background information on the wedge? I really need it for a research paper. these other websites arent giving me enough information.
I can’t guess what sort of information you’re looking for, sorry! Try asking a specific question or set of questions, and I’ll try to answer them.
The fish head was GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes it is! It’s not on this page though, you’ll find it here: https://quatr.us/biology/vertebrae-project-boiling-fish-chicken-biology.htm
hi
Hi yourself! Thanks for stopping by, Avery.