Curated OER
Motion on an Inclined Plane
For this physics worksheet, students model the acceleration, velocity, and position of a cart moving up an inclined plane. They take data and determine a pattern in the data. Students also describe their findings and create an illustration.
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Inclined Plane, Lever
Students brainstorm ways of using an inclined plane or lever and demonstrate using materials such as a board, fulcrum, etc. They divide into two groups and figure out to lift a crate using materials for a simple machine. Once they...
Curated OER
Forces and Motion -- The Downhill Racer
Students examine the movement of a car on an inclined plane and on a flat surface. Using the amount of drops the car releases, they determine if it was traveling at a constant speed or not. They graph the velocity and acceleration rates...
Curated OER
Machines: Not So Simple
Students examine the names and images of simple machines in a matching activity. They build a simple machine using K'NEX before taking and printing out a digital picture of their example. They complete five station activities based on...
Curated OER
Simple Machines/Technology/ Force
Third graders study and define force. They determine that the cause of movement is pushing or pulling which are the types of force used when operating simple machines. They experiment to determine which object requires the most amount of...
Curated OER
Simple and Complex Machines Used In Agriculture
Students explore agriculture and the current technologies and research that continue to make Earth a viable planet. This four lessons unit introduce students to simple machines and the concepts of force and friction through a variety of...
Curated OER
Break It Down!
Students explore the everyday implications of system failure. They are challenged to identify the causes of system failure.
Curated OER
Plane Pretenders
Students examine simple machines evaluating a screw as an inclined plane. For this simple machines lesson, students use nuts and bolts and a microscopic vantage point to discover how to find an inclined plane. Students measure the...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
In this simple machines worksheet, students review the different types of simple machines and examples of each machine. This worksheet, has 1 graphic organizer and 6 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Directions for Making an Inclined Plane
For this simple machines worksheet, students follow the 5 directions and create a model of an inclined plane. Materials needed are a pencil, paper and tape.
Curated OER
Inclined Plane
Students using clay and a toothpick, shape the clay into a "mountain" upon which they make a road that is the shortest in distance. They measure the length of their road and then make a road that is the longest in distance without...
Curated OER
Simple Machines - Fruit Wedge
Fourth graders examine the principles and uses of inclined planes, screws, and wedges while they determine examples of simple machines that are use in everyday life. They separate different kinds of fruit into pieces to determine the...
Curated OER
Getting Help, but for More Work?
Fifth graders discuss prior knowledge of slope and force. They relate steepness of slope to the force needed to get an object up the slope. Students read from their text the information about inclined planes. They answer the questions...
Curated OER
Slide Right On By Using an Inclined Plane
Fourth graders examine the simple machine known as a plane. They build their own pyramid and identify the role of screws. They participate in a hands-on activity in which they determine the angle in which to make it easier to pull.
Curated OER
Mechanically Inclined
Eighth graders examine the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane through experimentation.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: The Ramp
Which object takes more energy to push up a ramp: a file cabinet, a refrigerator, a piano, or a sleepy dog? Find out in this ramp simulation when you change the angle of the incline, change the objects, or change the friction on the ramp.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Investigating the Inclined Plane Through Inquiry
In this activity, students 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...
Creative Science Centre
Creative Science Centre: Newton's Experiments
A collection of projects that recreated Isaac Newton's experiments as he would have built them in the seventeenth century. The projects include the mechanical advantage possible using three levers, the trajectory of a projectile, air...
![Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: Simple Machines [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: Simple Machines [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
SEDL
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: Simple Machines [Pdf]
This large PDF file contains seven lessons on simple machines. Includes illustrations. Requires Adobe Reader.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Tools and Equipment, Part I
Through a series of activities, students discover that the concept of mechanical advantage describes reality fairly well. They act as engineers creating a design for a ramp at a construction site by measuring four different inclined...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Watch It Slide!
Students use inclined planes as they recreate the difficult task of raising a monolith of rock to build a pyramid. They compare the push and pull of different-sized blocks up an inclined plane, determine the angle of inclination, and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Simple Machines From Pyramids to Skyscrapers
Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Just Plane Simple
This lesson plan introduces middle schoolers to three of the six simple machines used by many engineers. These machines include the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. In general, engineers use the inclined plane to lift heavy...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: An Introduction to Inclined Planes
Students are introduced to the concept of simple tools and how they can make difficult or impossible tasks easier. They begin by investigating the properties of inclined planes and how implementing them can reduce the force necessary to...