Simply Machines
Developed and Published
by
AIMS Education Foundation
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ISBN 978-1-60519-040-2
Printed in the United States of America
SIMPLY MACHINES
© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
PAINT
SIMPLY MACHINES
Table of Contents
Assembling Rubber Band Books.......... 4
Simply Machines Overview.................. 5
Simple Machines................................. 7
Inclined Plane
Inclined Planes............................ 89
Monkeys on the Plane.................. 91
Inclined to Work......................... 103
Lever
Lightening With Levers................... 9
Lever Load Up.............................. 13
Monkeys on a Lever..................... 21
Open Sesame............................... 31
The Lever..................................... 39
Wedge
The Wedge.......................113
Where’s the Wedge?.........115
Wedge Edge.....................123
Wheel and Axle
The Wheel and Axle..................... 41
Toying With a Wheel and Axle...... 45
Ruler Racers................................. 53
Gears...........................................61
Screw
The Screw..................................... 131
Twist and Turn............................... 133
As the Screw Turns........................ 141
Ramp Around................................ 143
Pulley
Pulleys.......................................... 63
Pulley Pull-Ups............................. 65
Give Me a Lift...................... 75
A Quick Turn Around.......... 83
Compound Machines
Compound Components................ 153
Simple Machines Search............... 161
Website Watch: Simple Machines.... 171
Just for Fun
Monkey Business........................... 173
Materials List...................................... 177
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
Simply Machines
Overview
A machine is a device for multiplying forces or changing the direction of forces.
Machines do NOT make work easier; they merely trade force for distance or distance
for force.
Work = force x distance
Work is done when something is moved. The amount of work done is determined by
how much force was used to move the object and how far the object was moved.
Students will not be determining work in this series of activities. They will, however, be
making observations (both quantitative and qualitative) as to
• the amount of force needed to move an object,
• the distances an object is moved, and/or
• the change in direction of the forces.
Six simple machines are explored:
Lever
Levers help to lift loads with less effort. The force needed for lifting changes as the
distance of the effort arm changes.
Wheel and Axle
Wheels and axles are turning levers. The larger the wheel, the less force is needed to
turn it, but it must turn a greater distance. Gears are a variation of the wheel and axle.
Pulley
PUlley
Pulleys can be used to lift loads with less effort and/or change the direction of force.
Inclined Plane
Inclined planes can be used to raise objects with
less force than a straight lift. The exchange is
that the distance the objects goes is greater.
Wedge
A wedge is two inclined planes placed
back to back.
Screw
A screw is an inclined plane that is
wrapped around a shaft.
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
Topic
Simple machines: lever
Background Information
A lever is a simple machine made of a stiff bar
(a lever arm) and a point about which the lever arm
turns (the fulcrum). A door acts as a lever with the
hinge as the fulcrum and the door as the lever arm.
The advantage of a lever (leverage) is that the
farther the point that you apply force is from the
fulcrum, the less force it takes to move the lever.
The disadvantage of a lever is the farther the point
that you apply force is from the fulcrum, the greater
distance you have to push the lever arm.
In this activity, students will be pulling a cupboard
door at different distances from the hinge to see how
the effort with which they pull changes.
Key Question
How does where you pull a door affect how hard you
have to pull?
Learning Goals
Students will:
• recognize and identify a door as a lever with the
hinge as the fulcrum and the door as the lever arm,
• measure the force needed to move the door at
different distances from the fulcrum, and
• generalize the position that makes pulling the door
the easiest.
Management
1. The number of appropriate cupboard doors will
determine how the activity is managed. If only
one or two are available, the students will need
to rotate in small groups. If a larger number is
available, each group can have its own door.
2. Loop one rubber band through each arm of the
binder clip for each group. The rubber bands
should all be the same size.
Guiding Documents
Project 2061 Benchmark
• In something that consists of many parts, the parts
usually influence one another.
NRC Standards
• The position and motion of objects can be changed
by pushing or pulling. The size of the change is
related to the strength of the push or pull.
• Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
Science
Physical science
force and motion
simple machines
lever
Integrated Processes
Observing
Comparing and contrasting
Identifying
Generalizing
Procedure
1. Have students read the rubber band book LeverLever Land.
2. Ask volunteers to go to the classroom door and
open it by pushing both at the inside edge (near
the hinge) and the outside edge. Have them
share with the class how these experiences felt
different.
3. Discuss the Key Question with the class and have
them discuss how the door is a lever.
4. Distribute the student page and have students
identify the fulcrum and lever arm.
5. Explain the procedure by demonstrating the three
positions where the binder clip is placed: outside,
middle, inside.
Materials
For each group:
1 large binder clip
2 rubber bands
cupboard door
For each student:
Lever-Lever-Land rubber band book
#19 rubber band
student page
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
6. Have students go in groups to their assigned
cupboard door and have each student feel how
hard they have to pull to move the door with
the binder clip in each position. Have them also
observe how much the rubber band stretches in
each position. With a rubber band on each side of
the clip, the students can pull the door back and
forth.
7. Have students record their observations at each
position on the record page and generalize their
observations by answering the Key Question.
8. Discuss the Connecting Learning questions.
4. Where are doorknobs usually placed on a door?
Explain why they are put there. [outside, easier to
pull, leverage]
5. How do levers help make jobs easier? [reduce
force required]
6. Where do you find levers in the real world? [crow
bar, claw hammer, wheelbarrow, door] Explain
how each makes a job easier.
7. What are you wondering now?
Extensions
1. On the same door, place a binder clip on the
inside and the outside. Have students participate
in a “tug-o-war” with the goal of pulling from both
sides while keeping the door in one position. Have
them notice how the rubber bands are stretched
and explain why.
2. Have students identify all the levers in the rubber
band book. Have them identify the fulcrum, lever
arm, and the advantage in the example.
Connecting Learning
1. What is a lever? [rigid bar: lever arm, point of
rotation: fulcrum]
2. How is a door an example of a lever? [door: lever
arm, hinge: fulcrum]
3. In what position was it easiest to move the door?
[outside] How did you observe this with the rubber
band? [not stretched much] In what position was
it hardest to move the door? [inside] How did you
observe this with the rubber band? [stretched a lot]
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
Key Question
How does where you pull
a door affect how hard
you have to pull?
Learning Goals
• recognize and identify a
door as a lever with the
hinge as the fulcrum and the door as the
lever arm,
• measure the force needed to move the
door at different distances from the
fulcrum, and
• generalize the position that makes pulling
the door the easiest.
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
8
There are levers all around.
Try to find other examples.
A lever is a simple machine.
It has two parts: a rigid bar
and a pivot point. The rigid
bar is called the lever arm.
The pivot point is the part
where the bar can
turn. It is called a
fulcrum.
All these examples had a
lever arm and a fulcrum. Did
you notice that the fulcrum
can be located in different
places along the lever arm?
2
7
4
5
A broom in your hands is a
lever. The handle is the lever
arm. Where do you think the
fulcrum is? If you thought the
fulcrum was the wrist on your
top hand, you
were right.
A wheelbarrow is also a lever.
The handle is the lever arm.
The place where the handle
attaches to the wheel is the
fulcrum.
Have you ever used a hammer
to take a nail out of a piece of
wood? The hammer is a lever.
A can opener is also a lever.
Color the lever arms red. Place
a blue X on each pivot point.
A seesaw is a lever. You can see
the lever arm and the fulcrum.
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
How does where you push or pull a door affect how hard you have to push
or pull?
Observations:
Observations:
Identify the parts of the lever.
Near the hinge
In the middle
At the edge
Observations:
Why are doorknobs on the outside edges of doors?
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation
Connecting Learning
1. What is a lever?
2. How is a door an example
of a lever?
3. In what position was it easiest to move
the door? How did you observe this with
the rubber band? In what position was
it hardest to move the door? How did
you observe this with the rubber band?
4. Where are doorknobs usually placed on
a door? Explain why they are put there.
5. How do levers help make jobs easier?
6. Where do you find levers in the real world?
Explain how each makes a job easier.
7. What are you wondering now?
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© 2011 AIMS Education Foundation