How to Open a Soda Can Using Simple Machines

A simple machine is a machine that has few or no moving parts and uses energy to work. There are six types of simple machines: levers, inclined planes, wheels with axles, screws, wedges and pulleys. When you use a simple machine, you use your mechanical advantage to leverage your strength. This means that you use your brain to lift more than you could with your bare hands. You can pop open a soda can using a wedge and a lever. You don't have to own any special tools to do this; you probably already have all the stuff you need.

• 1

  Use a wedge to pry the tab on your soda from the lid. A wedge is a simple machine made up of two inclined planes that meet to form a sharp edge. A wedge is used to pull or split things apart. For this experiment, the butter knife is your wedge. Slide the tip of the butter knife between the tab and the lid of the can with the handle pointed at you. Hold the can in one hand. With the other hand, hold the handle of the knife. Resting the tip of the knife at the base of the tab, gently lift up a little bit until the tab is no longer flush with the lid. Do not pop the top.

• 2

  Finish opening your can with a lever. For this experiment, your knife will serve as a lever. One object can function as more than one type of simple machine, depending upon how it is used. A lever is a board or bar that rests upon a turning point called a fulcrum. Your knife will be the bar, and the lip of the can will be the fulcrum. Hold the can in one hand and the handle of the knife in the other. Place the tip of the knife at the base of the tab, underneath the tab you just lifted with the wedge. This time, though, rest the blade of the knife upon the lip of the can. Push down on the handle of the knife. The blade should raise underneath the tab, lifting the tab completely and popping open your can of soda.

• 3

  Drink the soda you just opened. Now that you have learned how to operate a wedge and a lever, find some other projects to help you understand how pulleys, wheels with axles, inclined planes and screws work. You can find all of these simple machines right in your house.