Egypt: Feast or Famine? The answer is in the Nile The Nile was feared by the ancient Egyptians. During the flood season, from June through October, the Nile entered Egypt at up to 15 times its normal size. 1. Egypt Courtesy of resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk

Egypt – Gift of the Nile Water for Life 2. Egypt depends completely on the waters and silt from the Nile. The people must control the river to ensure their survival. Irrigation in Egypt began about 6000 BC.

Shadoof and Work 3. A shadoof is a large pole balanced on a crossbeam. A rope and a bucket are on one end; a heavy counterweight is at the other end. The bucket scoops the water out of the Nile and is swung up and around and dumped into a canal system. Basin

Basin Irrigation Ancient Egyptians developed and used a form of water management. They controlled the rise and fall of the river by building a series of earthen walls to trap the water into basins to help irrigate the dry agricultural land. 4. Canal System

Simple Machines 5. There are 6 simple machines. The shadoof is a lever and is one of the oldest irrigation tools that perform a highly advanced function.

Lever – How does it work? 6. The lever has two important parts: The lever itself, and the fulcrum (pivot point). The placement of the fulcrum determines how far the levered object (load) will move and how much force is required to move it. Ancient Egyptian builders used the lever.

Class 1 Lever 7. With a class 1 lever, the fulcrum is located between the force pushing down (effort) and the output force (load). A seesaw is an example of a class 1 lever.

Class 2 Lever In a class 2 lever, the resistance (load) is located between the effort and the fulcrum (pivot). An example is a wheelbarrow. 8.

Class 3 Lever In a class 3 lever, the effort is between the fulcrum (pivot) and the resistance (load). An example is a broom. 9.

Shadoof–Which Class of Lever? and Why? Class 1 Class 2Class 3

Work = Force Times Distance 11. When correctly balanced, the counterweight will support a half-filled bucket. Some effort is used to pull an empty bucket down to the water, and the same effort is needed to lift a full bucket. (fulcrum)

Pyramid 12. The shadoof was also used to lift stones weighing 2.5 tons to build 10% of the volume of the pyramids. Courtesy of

The Scorpion King t 13. An artifact dated to about 3100 BC depicts the Scorpion King, a pharaoh, cutting into a ditch that is part of a grid of basin irrigation. This demonstrates the importance of irrigation in ancient Egyptian society. Tool

A Heavy Load 14. Egyptian builders used the lever to move and lift obelisks weighing more than 100 tons. Obelisk

Shadoofs Today 15. In parts of Africa and Asia, shadoofs are still used to get water to the fields, all day long, every day. The typical shadoof's lever carries a 1:5 ratio. This means the length from the load end to the fulcrum is 5 times longer than from the effort end to the fulcrum. A bucket, skin bag, or reed basket hangs at the long end of the pole; the counterweight on the short end is usually clay, stone, or similar object. Egyp t Romania

The Difference They Have Made The lever has changed the way work is done throughout the world. Levers are so useful and common, that they have played a role in every major technological advancement. Six hundred million acres are being irrigated in the world today. 16. Vector isolated image of the complex fantastic machine with gears, levers, pipes, meters, production line, flue and lifting crane Courtesy of

Shaduf Watch this video, paying special attention to the parts of the shadoof, and how it works. This 6 th grade student lives in Australia – not in Egypt!