What term describes an inclined plane with one or two sloping sides?

• A. Wedge
• B. Inclined Plane
• C. Temperature
• D. Compound Machine

Answer: (A)

A wedge is a simple machine formed by two inclined planes joined at a sharp edge. That two-slope design lets you apply a force along the length of the wedge and split, cut, or pry materials apart because the force is concentrated at the thin edge as the wedges push materials away from each other. An inclined plane, by contrast, is just a single sloping surface used to raise or move objects with less effort, not to split them. Temperature has no relation to how machines work, and a compound machine is made from multiple simple machines working together, not the single wedge itself. So the term that describes an inclined plane with one or two sloping sides—the two sloping faces meeting to form a sharp edge—is wedge.