A teacher takes her class to the past in a time machine to investigate their roots.
There could be a few terms but I would say analysis.
He used the hatchet by making a fire
Based on the given sentence above, the function of the noun clause is as the DIRECT OBJECT. A direct object is a noun that directly receives the action of the main verb in the sentence. In this sentence, the noun clause directly receives the action of the verb "learned". Hope this answers your question.