Simple Machines (Station Approach)
In this series of three sequentially-designed activities, students manipulate three different types of simple machine - the lever, the inclined plane, and the pulley. Each successive activity introduces new, more complex concepts that build upon and extend student understanding of force and motion. Students measure the force required to lift objects using these machines and calculate the work input and work output of the machines. They discover that while machines can reduce the force required to move an object, they do not reduce the amount of work required to move the object. Students also calculate mechanical advantage and are introduced to friction, efficiency, and the first law of thermodynamics.
Details at a Glance
- 3-6 Days | 3-6 ~50 minute class periods
- 3 Activities
- Accommodates unlimited classes, each with 1 group of 4 students
- Meets our criteria for supporting literacy
- All materials are non-consumable
- Includes digital resources
Scientific Concepts
•Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object’s motion.
•Energy is a property of many substances and is transferred in many ways.
•All energy can be considered to be either kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion, potential energy, which depends on relative position, or energy contained by a field, such as electromagnetic waves.
KEY VOCABULARY: force, fulcrum, friction, inclined plane, joule, lever, machine, mechanical advantage, newton, pulley, work
Guides & Student Sheets
Our kits and modules provide you with everything you need so you can open, review, and teach the material confidently the next day.
- Full downloadable Teacher Guide with background information, detailed instruction, example data and answers
- Downloadable Student Sheets with age appropriate background information, full procedure(s), and analysis questions
- All materials necessary to carry out the investigation
- Safety Data Sheets
Kit Components
- 1 Teacher’s Guide
- 5 Student Worksheets and Guides
- 2 Pulleys
- 2 LAB-AIDS® Ramp
- 1 Lab-Aids® Ramp-top Support
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Mid Ramp Support
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Mid Ramp Support Riser
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Forcemeter
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Tripod
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Tripod Base
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Distance Marker
- 1 LAB-AIDS® Threaded Hook-Post
- 1 Cylindrical weight, 200 grams
- 1 50-cm stick
- 1 15-cm metric ruler
- 1 Pulley string
- Not included and needed for instruction: Graph paper.
Related Products
-
Module #P210Force and MotionOur Force and Motion module, designed by professors at the University of Kentucky, provides concrete experiences and an inquiry-based route to learning about Newton’s laws of motion. This module’s activities are designed to build understanding of these concepts in a logical sequence, while not introducing too many concepts at once.
Over...$873.00 View Details -
Kit #351SNewton's First Law
In Part A, students carry out an investigation to determine what will happen to an object in a circular track and are informally introduced to the concept of forces. Students predict, then observe the direction a marble rolls when a section of the track is removed, and develop an argument to explain their observations....
$108.10 View Details -
Kit #212Pendulum
In this activity students investigate the motion of a pendulum and the energy transfers that take place as it swings. They first investigate how the physical characteristics of a pendulum affect the period of a pendulum. They are given several variables to test and then asked to design and carry out an experiment to...
$205.65 View Details -
Kit #211Waves, Sound and Light
In this series of three activities students produce both longitudinal and transverse mechanical waves and compare their similarities and differences. As an introduction, students use water and springs to observe wavelength and frequency and discover the relationship between them. Their exploration of waves continues through investigating vibrations and the production of sound waves. Using...
$137.90 View Details
