Big Machines

Big Machines

Introduction Work is done when something is moved from one place to another. Machines are used to do the work. They move things from one place to another. Some things are easy to move. Other things are not.

Small machines are used for smaller jobs. Things like shovels are simple machines. They do not have many moving parts.

Big machines are used to move heavy things. They are used to build tall buildings. They are used to build roads and bridges. They are used to take resources from the earth.

Building Tall Buildings It takes many big machines to build a tall building. Large power shovels called excavators dig deep holes in the ground. Some power shovels have huge buckets that can scoop a swimming pool-sized pile of dirt in one scoop. Others have clamlike buckets that take big bites out of the earth.

Bulldozers are machines that move the dirt around. Giant dump trucks carry the dirt away. Concrete trucks carry concrete to the work site. Flatbed trucks carry steel beams and rods to the work site. Large cranes lift steel beams into place. They also carry buckets of concrete to workers high above ground.