The Piano Movers
You do not NEED to watch the whole video, but please watch from the beginning to 8:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh-tLlrFq2Q
After watching the clip of Laurel and Hardy moving the piano up the stairs in the movie The Music
Box, what did you notice about the amount of force they had to use?

Were Laurel and Hardy doing work on the piano? How do you know?
You were hired as an assistant to Laurel and Hardy and their moving company. You have to move the
piano up 3 stories to a penthouse apartment. How could you move the piano with minimal effort
(force)? As an assistant, you don’t have a lot of money so you can’t hire more help, but you do have
access to an unlimited number of wood planks. Design a way to push the piano up to the 3rd floor
using the least amount of force. You can a) write a conclusion letter to your bosses (Mr. Laurel and Mr.
Hardy) explaining how you moved the piano and why did you use that simple machine; or b) answer
the analysis questions in complete sentences and use your data to support your reasoning.
Purpose:__________________________________________________________________________________
IV: ______________________________________________________________________________________
DV:______________________________________________________________________________________
Hypothesis:_______________________________________________________________________________
Control Group:____________________________________________________________________________
Constants:________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Ramp
Length (m)
0.09
Ramp
Height (cm)
9 (3 books)
Mass of
Box (g)
Trial 1
Force (N)
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Work (J)
Option A) Conclusion letter on a separate piece of paper: In your conclusion letter to Mr. Laurel and
Mr. Hardy, you need to include the following: your hypothesis, if you got the results you expected
(use your actual data to support this), what simple machine you used, why you chose this simple
machine, how did the simple machine affect the work completed, what is the best way to reduce
your effort (force). Make sure you answer the analysis questions below in your conclusion essay.
Analysis questions
1. What simple machine did you use?
2. What happens to the force as you increased the ramp length? *use your data to support your
reasoning.
3. What happened to the work as you increased the ramp length? *use your data to support
your reasoning.
4. Why do we use simple machines? *use your data and any observations to support your
reasoning.
5. Mechanical advantage tells how many times the machine multiplies the force put into the
machine. Calculate the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane. Choose the ramp that you
think is the best to use to move the piano.
𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑝 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑚)
a. 𝑀𝐴 = 𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑝 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑚)
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
b. 𝑀𝐴 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 9.8