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 Leonardo da Vinci's Labor Saving Machines

Leonardo da Vinci's Labor Saving Machines
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.52

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    hand-operated, loom, drilling, looms, bolts, concave, semi-circle, teaching, waking, solution, better, framework, difficulty, remain, mass, power
     content words:    National Museum

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Leonardo da Vinci's Labor Saving Machines
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     Leonardo da Vinci drew hundreds of sketches of machines. Some of them were sketches of machines that he would have seen many times, like a simple pulley. Others seem to be sketches of well-known machines, but with some changes added. Others seem to be completely new ideas. Maybe he drew some of them to educate others, or even himself. Drawing the machines in detail must have been a good way to understand how they operated, and Leonardo felt that drawings were better than words for teaching his ideas to others.
 
2     Many of his drawings also seem to be attempts at solving problems. This is especially true of his practical, work-saving machines. His drawings often show ways to make work easier. They show ways to make jobs more automatic with less work for the people involved.
 
3     Leonardo created his ideas using basic principles of science and his observations of how machines work.

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