TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: How a Faucet Works
Students learn about the underlying engineering principals in the inner workings of a simple household object - the faucet. Students use the basic concepts of simple machines, force and fluid flow to describe the path of water through a...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Simple Machines
Good combination of teacher demonstration and student interaction for this simple machine lesson. Great for talking about force and work. Plans are for grades 2-4, yet are adaptable.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Dirtmeister's Science Reporters: Simple Machines: Pulley
With-it explanation of how the pulley works, where it's found. Most interesting, as Scholastic material usually is.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Pyramid Building: How to Use a Wedge
Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam)....
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Construction of a Complex Machine Through Classroom Collaboration
Students take a simple task and make it much more complicated using a cardboard box. Each group must use a minimum of six simple machines utilizing at least four types of simple machines. The goal is to keep the initial impulse moving...
![Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing and Testing a Crane [Pdf] Lesson Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing and Testing a Crane [Pdf] Lesson Plan")
Other
Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing and Testing a Crane [Pdf]
By the end of this project, students will be familiar with the 6 different simple machines and will be able to identify how these machines are used in products and tools they use on a daily basis. They will investigate how mechanical...
My Science Site
Finding Examples of Machines [Pdf]
Ready, set, go! Send your students racing to find examples of machines with this reproducible. A great way to enhance student learning on an unit on work and machines. This resource is in PDF form; requires Adobe Reader.
Other
Mechanical Systems
A collection of resources on how humans use machines and tools to meet their needs. Covers simple and complex machines, subsystems that transfer forces, mechanical advantage, speed ratio, the effect of friction, efficiency, the science...
Museum of Science
The Museum of Science: Gadget Anatomy
This site from The Museum of Science presents some compound machines and asks students to identify which simple machines they are composed of. Students provide their answer and receive immediate feedback.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Putting Robots to Work With Force & Friction
Students learn about the concept of pushing, as well as the relationship between force and mass. Students practice measurement skills using pan scales and rulers to make predictions about mass and distance. A LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot is...
Beacon Learning Center
Beacon Learning Center: How Can We Move Our Principal?
In this problem solving exercise, students must decide which simple machine would work best in different situations, in order to help the principal manoeuvre himself after he has hurt his leg and can't walk. The site has a good tutorial...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Levers Weight Lifters
During this lesson, learners will have the opportunity to explore levers through hands-on experiences and by navigating the Internet. This lesson allows students to use their experiences to determine how levers and other simple machines...
Other
How to smile.org: Building Pulleys
An activity where students use pulley systems to pick up a paint can and move an eraser from the ground to the top of a desk. After completing this activity, students will understand how pulley systems can help us do work.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Engineering Solutions
Anyone who has attempted one of those "claw machine" games at local restaurants or retailers knows how impossible it seems to win. This activity will get students using the engineering design process to develop a claw that will actually...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Screw
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] What a screw is, how it works and its mechanical advantage.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Wedge
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] What a wedge is and its mechanical advantage, how it changes force to make work easier.
Museum of Science
Museum of Science and Industry: Online Science: Build a Lever
Step-by-step illustrated instructions for an experiment investigating how a lever works. An explanation of the science involved is given at the end.
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...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Trb 3:3 Investigation 3 Weighty Mistakes
Understand the concept of "work" and the use of levers.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Pulley'ing Your Own Weight
Using common materials (spools, string, soap), students learn how a pulley can be used to easily change the direction of a force, making the moving of large objects easier. They see the difference between fixed and movable pulleys, and...
Other
D&t Online: Gears
This site illustrates how gears work and how they are used in simple machines.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Dirtmeister: The Inclined Plane
This site from Dirtmeister gives information on how the Ancient Egyptians used the inclined plane. Dirtmeister explains the inclined plane and its uses.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Engineering Ups and Downs
Engineering design lesson examines the principles behind working elevators. Teams of young scholars explore how elevators work, then design, build, and evaluate their own elevator to service a toy car garage.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Cyberchase: Bianca Gets in Gear
Bianca visits a bike shop and learns how bicycle gears work in this Cyberchase video segment. [3:26]