Question

What is an inclined plane? What is its use ? Give two examples where it is used.

Answer 1

People have been using inclined planes to transport heavy items since prehistoric times. Ancient civilizations such as the Romans created sloping roads and causeways, which are examples of early inclined planes that have survived, demonstrating that they recognised the utility of this technology for carrying goods uphill.

Complete step by step answer:
An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface that is slanted at an angle, with one end higher than the other, and is used to help raise or reduce a weight. The inclined plane is one of Renaissance scientists' six traditional basic devices. Inclined planes are commonly used to transport large loads over vertical barriers; examples range from loading items onto a truck to a person going up a pedestrian ramp to a car or railroad train ascending a hill.
Figure showing the object motion on an inclined plane:

Moving an item up an inclined plane needs less force than moving it straight up, but the distance travelled increases. The ratio of the length of the sloping surface to the height it spans is equal to the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane, which is the factor by which force is decreased. Because of conservation of energy, lifting a given object a given vertical distance requires the same amount of mechanical energy regardless of friction losses, but the inclined plane allows the same work to be done with a lesser force applied over a longer distance. The greatest angle at which a weight may remain stationary on an inclined plane due to friction without sliding down is known as the angle of friction (also known as the angle of repose). The arctangent of the coefficient of static friction between the surfaces equals this angle.
To load and unload cargo on trucks and planes, inclined planes are commonly employed as loading ramps. Wheelchair ramps let persons in wheelchairs overcome vertical barriers without exerting too much force. Inclined planes include escalators and slanted conveyor belts. A train vehicle is hauled up a highly inclined plane using cables in a funicular or cable railway. Inclined planes can allow large, delicate items, such as humans, to be safely dropped down a vertical distance by reducing the gravitational pull using the normal force of the plane. Aircraft evacuation slides allow passengers to reach the ground quickly and safely from the height of a passenger aircraft.

Note:
Other inclination planes are permanently included into buildings. Inclined planes in the shape of gentle slopes, ramps, and causeways are used on automobile and train roads to allow vehicles to overcome vertical barriers such as hills without losing grip on the road surface. Pedestrian paths and sidewalks, meanwhile, have gentle ramps to keep the slope to a minimum so that pedestrians can maintain traction. In playground slides, water slides, ski slopes, and skateboard parks, inclined planes are also utilised as amusement for people to slide down in a regulated manner.