Curated OER
Row, Tow, Pull Your Boat
Third graders use previous knowledge and research to analyze and solve a scenario relating to the use of simple machines and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They present their findings to the class in oral presentations.
Curated OER
Three Classes of Levers
Eighth graders research the three classes of levers and create a Power Point presentation showcasing the fulcrum, effort arm, and resistance arm in each class. They then write a paper explaining real life applications of the levers.
Curated OER
Balanced Students
Students investigate the relationships between weights, and construct a balanced first class lever. They formulate a general equation for the relationship explored in the experiment and perform calculations.
Curated OER
Work Made Easy
Second graders maneuver placement of the fulcrum on the lever to see how to lift weight most easily. They role-play as archaeologists with the task of lifting a heavy rock from the dig site. They write in science journals about what...
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Hardware Devices
Learners examine a variety of simple hardware devices. They observe the interactions between the elements of the devices, through both hands-on and Internet exploration. They complete worksheets and design their own gadgets.
Curated OER
Mystery Machines
Students explore simple machines and demonstrate thier acquired understanding by building a simple machine.
Curated OER
Make Work Easier!
Pupils work in pairs to design a lever. They conduct experiments using a penny and nickel to explore the uses of a lever.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Blossoms: Using Geometry to Design Simple Machines
An MIT engineering professor offers a fun presentation on simple machines, specifically the geometry involved in building them. Students will learn about kinematics ("geometry in motion") and build their own simple machines with a...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12 Exploration Series: Simulations: Physics: Ramp and Piano
[Free Registration/Login Required] This module has students using a simple machine to learn about the relationship between work, force, and energy.
PBS
The Math of Bicycles: Wheel Figure This Out (Grades 4 7)
Several good activities here. Look particularly at Wheel Figure It Out (which is the opening page) and Gearing Up. There are answers to the very good questions at the bottom of each.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Balancing the Load: The See Saw as a Simple Machine
Have you ever tried to pull out a nail out of wood with your bare hands? Or have you tried to shove a staple through a stack of papers without a stapler? A hammer's claw, a stapler, a pair of pliers and a shovel are each examples of...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Gears Go Round!
Music boxes, bicycles, and clocks all have one thing in common: GEARS. You might say that gears make the world turn, since they are in so many mechanical instruments. How do they work and how do you know which gears to use? Find out in...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Which Simple Machines Do I Use the Most?
When you think of a machine, you probably think of computers or robots. Try this experiment to see how simple machines are used everyday around your house.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Bomb's Away! A Ping Pong Catapult
With this project you'll send ping pong balls flying through the air with a rubber-band powered catapult. This catapult makes it easy to reproduce the launch angle, and to measure the amount of force applied to the projectile. Armed with...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating the Inclined Plane Through Inquiry
For this activity, learners will use different materials to find the most effective way to use an inclined plane (in other words, moving an object with as little force as possible). This is a guided inquiry. Although the students will be...
Technology Student
Technology Student: Mechanisms
This site describes mechanisms and simple machines, and the basic components used to build them.
SEDL
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: Simple Machines [Pdf]
This large PDF file contains seven lessons on simple machines. Includes illustrations. Requires Adobe Reader.
Other
Solpass: Simple Machines [Pdf]
Worksheet activities for students to practice knowledge about simple machines.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Simple Machines
From a chapter on Statics and Torque in a Physics textbook. This section of the chapter discusses the different types of simple machines and how to calculate their mechanical advantage. Includes questions, problems and exercises.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Splash, Pop, Fizz: Rube Goldberg Machines
Refreshed with an understanding of the six simple machines; screw, wedge, pully, incline plane, wheel and axle, and lever, student groups receive materials and an allotted amount of time to act as mechanical engineers to design and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Magician's Catapult
In this activity, students reinforce their understanding of compound machines by building a catapult. This compound machine consists of a lever and a wheel-and-axel. Catapults have been designed by engineers for a variety of purposes -...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Heave Ho!
Students will discover the scientific basis for the use of inclined planes. They will explore, using a spring scale, a bag of rocks and an inclined plane, how dragging objects up a slope is easier than lifting them straight up into the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Wide World of Gears
In an interactive and game-like manner, students learn about the mechanical advantage that is offered by gears. By virtue of the activity's mechatronics presentation, students learn to study a mechanical system as a dynamic system under...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Power of Mechanical Advantage
Students learn about the mechanical advantage offered by pulleys in an interactive and game-like manner. By virtue of the activity's mechatronic presentation, they learn to study a mechanical system not as a static image, but rather as a...