machines
Design Machines
Purpose
To design, create, and use simple and
complex machines to accomplish tasks.
Process Skills
Design, predict, observe, measure, collect
data, interpret data, communicate, identify
and control variables, draw conclusions
Materials
(per group)
qData Sheets 1 and 2
q12 strips of tagboard
(or card stock)
q12 empty rolls
of toilet paper
qscissors
qyarn
qroll of tape
(masking or clear)
qlightweight ball
qmeter stick
Background
In science, work is what happens when a force
moves an object from one place to another.
A machine is a tool that lets us do work faster, easier, and often more
safely. A simple machine is a machine with few or no moving parts.
Scientists identify several kinds of simple
Simple Machines
machines: the inclined plane, the screw,
the wedge, the lever, the wheel and axle,
and the pulley. (The gear is sometimes
considered to be another simple machine,
inclined plane
screw
but it will not be used in this activity.)
A complex machine is made up of
two or more simple machines. Each
simple or complex machine is designed
to help people perform a certain task.
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lever
wheel and axle
pulley
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Time – Part 1: 90 minutes;
Part 2: 60 minutes
Grouping – Small groups
wedge
EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines
Procedure
Part 1: Build and Test Simple Machines
1.As a group, discuss what
you know about each of the
six kinds of simple machines.
Refer to the nonfiction book
Simple and Complex Machines
for review, if necessary.
2.As a group, think about how
you can use the available
materials to build each of the
six kinds of simple machines.
The materials you have been
given should be enough to
create all six simple machines,
so use your resources wisely.
•Wedge: Design and build
a wedge that will move the
ball by using only a gentle
push at the beginning.
•Lever: Design and build
a lever that will move the
ball by using only a gentle
push or pull at the beginning.
•Wheel and Axle: Design and
build a wheel with an axle
that will move the ball by
using only a gentle push at
the beginning.
3.Begin constructing one simple
machine at a time (see Figure A
for examples). Once your group
has built all six machines,
you will try a challenge that
involves making a ball move by
using three of your machines.
Keep the challenge in mind as
you build each machine. Follow
these directions as your group
builds each machine:
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•Inclined Plane: Design and
build an inclined plane that
will allow the ball to travel
down it without any push
from you.
•Pulley: Design and build
a pulley that will move the
ball by using only a gentle
pull at the beginning.
•Screw: Design and build
a screw that will allow the
ball to travel down it without
any push from you.
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines
6.Make changes to any machines
that do not work as intended,
while still following the rules
in step 3. Some machines will
work better than others at
moving the ball.
4.Draw a picture of each of
your simple machines on
Data Sheet 1 and list the
materials you used to build it.
5.Once your group has designed
and built all six machines,
test each one by itself. Make
sure that it can move the ball
according to the directions in
step 3. Measure the distance
each machine moved your ball
by tracing its path with the
yarn. Then measure the length
of the yarn with the meter
stick. Record this data on
Data Sheet 1 for each machine.
7.On Data Sheet 1, draw a picture
of each of the simple machines
your group built. Also, record
the materials that you used to
build each one.
8.Using Data Sheet 1, discuss
with your group which of
your simple machines moved
the ball the greatest distance.
Sample designs
These pictures show just one possible way to design each simple machine. Create your own designs as a group.
wedge
lever
wheel
and axle
pulley
screw
Figure A
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inclined plane
EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines
Part 2: Build and Test
a Complex Machine
1.With your group, discuss
how to construct a complex
machine. Make any three
of your simple machines
work together to move the
ball through a course chosen
by your teacher. Do not start
building yet! For now, just
discuss your ideas for the
design (see Figure B for an
example). Be sure to consider
each group member’s ideas.
Read these rules and tips to help
with your planning:
Rules and Tips
• Find out from your teacher
whether you will be asked to
make the ball travel far, go
fast, go around corners, hit a
target, change between levels,
or move in some other way. This
information will help you design
your complex machine.
• Review the distance results from
Data Sheet 1. If you need your
ball to travel far, use these results
to help you decide which simple
machines to use in your complex
machine.
• The simple machines may be
connected to one another, or
there may be gaps between
them so that one machine
sends the ball to the next one.
p.
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ages Cor
© Jupiterim
• If the ball starts at or reaches a
wedge, lever, wheel and axle, or
pulley, you may give it a gentle
boost, but the machine, not you,
should do most of the work. If
the ball starts at or reaches an
inclined plane or a screw, you may set the ball on the machine, but
do no push or pull it.
Figure B
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines
5.When your teacher announces
that it is your group’s turn,
follow the rules and tips
for using the machines and
conduct the test! Your teacher
may allow you to make several
attempts, including a chance
to change your machine
between attempts. When all
testing is done, you will be
asked to reflect on the activity.
2.Draw the starting design for
your complex machine on
Data Sheet 2. Also, list the
three kinds of simple machines
that make up your complex
machine. This design is just a
plan to help you get started;
your plans may change once
you actually begin building.
3.Using your group’s design
plan, assemble your complex
machine. Remember, it is
okay to change your complex
machine from the starting
design if needed.
4.Once you have built your
complex machine, test it out
to make sure it works as
you had hoped. Continue
to make any needed changes
or improvements, but only
use the materials provided
and only use three kinds of
simple machines. Once you
have changed it for the last
time, draw your final design
on Data Sheet 2.
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Data Sheet 1
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
Collect Data
Part 1: Build and Test Simple Machines
Inclined plane
Wedge
Lever
Materials used:
Materials used:
Materials used:
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
Wheel and Axle
Pulley
Screw
Materials used:
Materials used:
Materials used:
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Data Sheet 2
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
Collect Data
Part 2: Build and Test a Complex Machine
Starting Design
Final Design
Which three kinds of simple machines did you use to design your
complex machine?
___________________
___________________
___________________
How will your complex machine move the ball through the course?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Questions
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
Analyze Data
1. In Part 1, which simple machine moved the ball the greatest distance?
Why do you think this one worked best?
2. Did your design plan need to be changed once you started building
your complex machine? If so, why did it need to be changed? If not,
why not?
3. Why did some simple machines require you to provide more force
than others did?
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Questions
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
4. Some groups may have used more or less force than your group
to move their ball. How would you change the activity to be sure
that every group uses an equal amount of force?
5. Suppose you could redesign your complex machine by replacing
one of its simple machines with another. Which simple machine
would you remove, and which one would you use instead? Why?
Draw Conclusions
1. In your own words, explain how a complex machine works.
2. Which kinds of simple machines seem more useful than others
at moving a ball? Why do you think this is so?
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machines
Design Machines
Teaching Tips
These process activities will provide students with opportunities to increase their
familiarity with simple machines—the inclined plane, screw, wedge, lever, wheel and
axle, pulley, and gear. Students will discover the properties of each simple machine
and identify which machine is best suited to complete various tasks. They will also
combine simple machines into complex machines. Students may come to appreciate
how machines help people accomplish work faster, more easily, and more safely.
Set-up and
procedures
Refer
students to pictures from this unit’s nonfiction book (and elsewhere)
as they design their simple and complex machines.
¢ Students may use inquiry to design each simple and complex machine
however they feel it will work best. They should be encouraged to modify their designs as they test each machine. See page 3 for possible techniques
to assemble each simple machine. These suggested techniques should only
be shared with students if they need help getting started.
¢ Be sure students use each simple machine as intended. For example,
students should not use their wheel and axle or inclined plane as a lever by flicking the ball with either of them.
¢ Have students label each simple machine they construct with its type.
¢ Some of the simple machines that students assemble may not work as well
as students had hoped. But students should still be able to complete each
section of Data Sheet 1 for each machine. If the ball did not move at all,
they may write a zero in the distance space.
¢ For Part 1, have the whole class follow the same course so that the primary
variable will be the design of each group’s complex machine. The simplest
challenge is to measure the total distance each group’s ball travels. Other
possibilities include testing how quickly the ball reaches a given point,
making the ball go around corners and/or change levels, and trying to hit
a specific target. Just as students may need to alter their machine designs,
you may want to model being flexible with the course design to suit the
machines that students built.
¢
For
Part 2, it may also be best to assign a challenge or course that all
groups can try in their own area, rather than using one centralized course
requiring groups to move their complex machines from their work area.
Some machines may be fragile and could become damaged in transit.
¢ Reinforce vocabulary (e.g., work, force, load, simple machine, complex machine,
inclined plane, screw, wedge, lever, wheel and axle, pulley) throughout the
lesson. It may be helpful to review the nonfiction book Simple and Complex
Machines before beginning the exploration.
¢
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EXPLORATION
MATERIALS
extensions and
variations
Machines—Design Machines
Ask
students to begin donating clean, empty toilet paper rolls several
weeks in advance of the exploration. It may also be helpful to put a
collection box in the staff room. Paper towel tubes may be used instead, or in addition.
¢ Tagboard and card stock (as used in sentence strips in the primary grades)
are strong yet flexible types of paper. Old file folders can be cut into sheets
and used instead. Substitute or add materials freely.
¢ In each part of the exploration, have students use a Ping Pong ball, a tiny
toy car, or another lightweight object that rolls.
¢ Because building the simple and complex machines involves some trial
and error, have extra materials on hand in case students need to start over.
¢ Rather than measuring distances with string and then measuring the string
against a meter stick, let students use tape measures if available.
¢
Inquiry
Science: After students have assembled a complex machine using
three of their simple machines, challenge them to create a new complex
machine that incorporates more than three types of simple machines. For a longer-term project, students can even design a very complex machine,
such as a Rube Goldberg machine, to move their ball in many ways.
¢ Variation: Rather than having all groups design machines to follow the
same course, have groups each design and build a complex machine that is tailored for a different course or challenge. Then discuss why each group designed its machine as it did.
¢ Inquiry Science: Have students use a marble or another object in place
of the ball to test their simple and complex machines. Allow them to compare the distances traveled. Did the new object travel farther or differently than the ball did? Why?
¢ Math: Create a class graph of the distances the ball traveled using each
simple machine. Alternatively, create a graph showing the popularity of the simple machines that groups used in creating their complex machines.
¢ Art: Have students cut out pictures from magazines of each type of simple
machine they see, and create a classroom bulletin board or collage.
¢ Writing: Have students write an acrostic poem about one simple machine.
¢ Technology: Have students create a digital slideshow about machines.
If a digital camera is available, students can photograph their simple and complex machines and include these pictures in their slideshow.
¢ Research: See Using the Internet in the Unit Guide for suggested websites
to extend the learning.
¢
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines
Possible Techniques to Assemble Each Simple Machine
¢
¢
¢
Inclined
plane: Use one whole toilet paper roll,
slice another one in half lengthwise, and slice
the remaining half in half again, yielding ramp
supports of three different heights. Tape the
whole roll, half roll, and quarter roll to the
floor with the curved sides up, and space them
appropriately to build an inclined plane. Tape a
sheet of tagboard atop the toilet paper rolls to
create a ramp. The bottom of the tagboard may
be taped to the floor, and its side edges may
be folded up to keep the ball rolling straight
ahead. (For a steeper ramp, cut toilet paper rolls
in the opposite direction, making diagonal cuts
so the ramp can be attached to the sloped tops
of the sliced toilet paper rolls.)
Screw:
Stand a toilet paper roll upright. Cut the
tagboard into 15–20 small strips, about 3 x 8 cm
each. Fold down a 1-cm tab on one side of each
of these strips. Starting at the bottom of the toilet
paper roll, tape the tab of the first piece of paper
so that it follows the seam of the toilet paper roll
(diagonally). Place the next strip of tagboard
higher on the seam so that it overlaps the first,
and tape down the tag against the toilet paper
roll. Continue attaching tagboard strips all the
way up the seam of the toilet paper roll. Use
generous amounts of tape to connect the strips
together and to attach them to the tube. Fold
up the outer edge of each strip to keep the ball
on the track as it coasts down the screw. Students
may add to the screw’s height by connecting
additional toilet paper rolls.
Wedge:
Crease one side of the toilet paper roll
and tape it together. The creased edge will serve
as the wedge, and the opposite side will serve
as the handle. Alternatively, use a sheet of
tagboard—folded one or more times—as
a wedge.
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¢
Wheel
and axle: Roll a sheet of tagboard into
a firm rod and tape it in place. Insert this rod
through a toilet paper roll to serve as an axle.
Alternatively, cut a sheet of tagboard into a nearperfect circle. Then punch a hole in the center
of this circle and insert and attach the axle. To
demonstrate simple machines, students should
only connect a single wheel to a single axle.
¢
Lever:
Fold a sheet of tagboard into a narrow strip
(shaped like a ruler) and tape it together to create
a beam, or arm. Use tape to attach it to the top of
a toilet paper roll, which will serve as the fulcrum.
To propel the ball along the ground, attach
the toilet paper roll to the ground in an upright
position, with the beam near the ground, so that
a flick of the beam will propel the ball in the
desired direction.
¢
Pulley:
Build a simple sled made of folded and
taped tagboard. Leave one side of the sled
open so that the ball will exit the sled once
launched. Tie the sled to one end of a length
of yarn. Tape a toilet paper roll to the floor in
an upright position. Run the length of yarn
around the roll, with the ball and sled on one side
and the untethered end of the yarn on the other.
Pulling on the untethered end should propel
the sled forward and release the ball through
the open part of the sled.
¢
Gear:
This simple machine was not selected
for use in this Process Activity because of its
complexity of use (most gears do not work
in isolation), but it can be added to the
exploration if desired. Students can cut out
a circle of tagboard and then cut teeth into
the edge, or cut teeth into the end of a toilet
paper roll.
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Data Sheets
Answer key
Data Sheet 1: Drawings, materials, and distances will vary, depending on each group’s design.
Data Sheet 2: Groups should draw their starting and final designs in the appropriate boxes. Three
different simple machine types should be listed, and a clear description of how the complex machine
will work should be provided. Ensure that the final design follows the procedures, demonstrates an
understanding of how each simple machine works, and suits the challenge.
EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Data Sheet 1
EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Data Sheet 2
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
Name________________________________________ Date_____________
Collect Data
Part 1: Build and Test Simple Machines
Collect Data
Part 2: Build and Test a Complex Machine
Inclined plane
Wedge
Lever
Materials used:
Materials used:
Materials used:
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
Wheel and Axle
Pulley
Screw
Starting Design
Final Design
Which three kinds of simple machines did you use to design your
complex machine?
___________________
Materials used:
Materials used:
Materials used:
___________________
___________________
How will your complex machine move the ball through the course?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Distance: ______ cm
Distance: ______ cm
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Distance: ______ cm
________________________________________________________________
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Questions
Answer key and explanations
Analyze Data
1. I n Part 1, which simple machine moved the ball the greatest distance? Why do you think this
one worked best?
Results will vary. The simple machine that allows the ball to travel the greatest distance may be the
inclined plane. This simple machine has little added friction, aims the ball in a straight line, and uses
gravity for speed. The lever, pulley, or any other machine may propel the ball farther yet, depending
on how much force students apply to each machine.
2. D
id your design plan need to be changed once you started building your complex machine?
If so, why did it need to be changed? If not, why not?
Design plans will likely need to be changed once students begin construction. Students may find that
a machine falls apart, doesn’t work as intended, or can be modified to work better. Flexibility and
ingenuity are important attributes for engineers and designers of all types. If students did not change
their design, they should explain why they didn’t feel it was necessary to do so.
3. Why did some simple machines require you to provide more force than others did?
Results will vary. Since the amount of force was not standardized in the procedures, students might
use more force with one machine than with another. Some machines, such as the screw and inclined
plane, use gravity to move the ball, so students may think these machines did not require any force
at all to use. However, lifting the ball to a starting height did require force.
4. S
ome groups may have used more or less force than your group to move their ball. How
would you change the activity to be sure that every group uses an equal amount of force?
Responses will vary. Standardizing the use of the inclined plane and screw would likely be easiest;
students could be required to construct these machines according to a specific design and use exactly
the same technique to release the ball, letting the constant of gravity do the rest. For each of the
other machines, rules would have to be added to define how far to flick the lever, how hard to push
the wedge, how long a piece of yarn to use in the pulley, and so on. Other materials might have to
be introduced, such as a swinging hammer that drives the wedge or a rubber band stretched to a
given length that moves the wheel and axle.
5. S
uppose you could redesign your complex machine by replacing one of its simple machines
with another. Which simple machine would you remove, and which one would you use
instead? Why?
Answers will vary, depending on the success of student results. Students should opt to replace the
least effective simple machine with one that seems more likely to help accomplish the challenge.
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EXPLORATION
Machines—Design Machines Questions
Answer key and explanations
Draw Conclusions
1. In your own words, explain how a complex machine works.
A complex machine works by combining two or more simple machines into a new machine that
makes things move. Complex machines help make work easier, faster, and/or safer.
2. W
hich kinds of simple machines seem more useful than others at moving a ball?
Why do you think this is so?
Responses will vary but should be a reflection of each group’s results from the exploration. Some
simple machines may be more useful in accomplishing one task than another. For example, if speed
was the goal, the wedge or lever may have been best. If changing levels was the goal, an inclined
plane may have been ideal. And the pulley or screw may have been most useful in making the ball
change directions. Additionally, some simple machines may be more useful when used as part
of a complex machine rather than in isolation. For example, if groups could have combined four
wheels and two axles, they could have built a vehicle to carry the ball far, but one wheel with
one axle may not have been very effective.
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