Simple Machines

Select a simple machine group and then go on a treasure hunt to find as many common items as you can that fit that category. List or draw them.

Invent a gadget using one or more simple machines. Using this writing prompt and process, write a description of your invention. 

Within a small group, predict how many simple machines will be found in the classroom or the school environment. Hunt for them and record your findings.  In your group, discuss which simple machines were found, which are used most often at school, and which was most difficult to locate. You may want to use this worksheet with suggested answers. 

Research the life of Leonardo da Vinci and write about one of his inventions.

Count the number of a given simple machine found in the pictures of a read-aloud story. For example: How many wheels can we find in the book Wheels on The Bus?

Lay out several levers. Compare their length and place in order by length. Discuss how comparatively high an object could be lifted using each lever. Add a fulcrum and continue the discussion.

Measure the distance that a wheel travels in one turn. Calculate how many turns that wheel will make over a given distance.

Using points, lines, segments, rays and angles, design a simple Rube Goldberg path using simple classroom objects such as string, pencils, rulers, books, etc.

Pushes and pulls can have different strengths and directions. Pushing or pulling on an object can change the speed or direction of its motion and can start or stop it. A bigger push or pull makes things speed up or slow down more quickly.

A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions.  Examples of problems requiring a solution could include having a marble or other object move a certain distance, follow a particular path, and knock down other objects. Examples of solutions could include tools such as a ramp to increase the speed of the object and a
structure that would cause an object such as a marble or ball to turn.

Examples of properties could include strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, and absorbency.  Different properties are suited to different purposes.

Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object's speed or direction of motion.

Force applied to an object can alter the position and motion of that object: revolve, rotate, float, sink, fall, and at rest. The patterns of an object's motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when that past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it. Examples of motion with a predictable pattern could include a child swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, and two children on a see-saw.

The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion.

Students use digital and nondigital tools to plan and manage a design process. Students engage in a cyclical design process to develop prototypes and reflect on the role that trial and error plays.

Students use age-appropriate digital and nondigital tools to design something and are aware of the step-by-step process of designing. Students use a design process to develop ideas or creations, and they test their design and redesign if necessary.

Students select and use digital tools to support a design process and expand their understanding to identify constraints and trade-offs and to weigh risks. Students engage in a design process to develop, test and revise prototypes, embracing the cyclical process of trial and error and understanding problems or setbacks as potential opportunities for improvement.