Guide - Simple Machines and Linkages

Build a wheel and experiment with movement and how friction affects motion and speed. Learn about how the wheel and axle make work easier.

Please note this resource was tailored for US schools and may require adjustments to suit UK schools.

🇬🇧 Teacher Notes

### Lesson Structure

When students go through this lesson in each section, the objectives they will learn are:

* **Imagine** – Discover the mechanical advantage of the wheel and axle.
* **Build** – Design a simple wheel on an axle and experiment with reducing friction.

Teacher Notes

Overview and Objectives

Materials

#### Teachers: Preparing Your Students (15 min)

When students begin the lesson, they start in [Overview and Objectives](#overview-and-objectives), then transition to this [Preparation](#preparation) section. Presented in their view is a vocabulary list of terms and infographics illustrating concepts across STEAM domains throughout this entire lesson.

There is an extra guide for preparing student readiness for their first engagement of new terms and content knowledge. Print or distribute the guide digitally. 

* Read through the vocabulary list. (5 minutes)
* Review the 6 simple machines. Download the optional asset and share to students. (10 minutes)

#### Vocabulary (5 minutes)

This is the list of vocabulary terms used throughout the lesson. They will be in **bold** and listed throughout different sections. Students can always revisit the vocabulary definitions with media and questions in the lesson. (5 minutes)

#### Simple Machines and Linkages (10 minutes)

Review the simple machines and linkages. There is an **optional** guide used as a printout or can be shared online to students before they engage this lesson. Each simple machine is designed to make work easier or more efficient and referenced in this lesson. Download the optional guide. (10 min)

Preparation

### Advantage of Wheel and Axle

* A wheel and **axle** is a type of simple machine.
    * Wheels and **axles** make mobility, transportation, and other types of work easier for people.
* A wheel and **axle** decreases the force needed to move an object over a distance.
    * Wheels lessen the amount of **friction**, which is the force that resists an object moving on the ground.
    * Wheels and **axles** can be found in bicycles, cars, and trains.
    * Other important examples include the door knob, water wheel, and screwdriver.

Wheels and **axles** reduce the amount of **friction**, making it easier to travel or move heavy objects.

Imagine

Build a base for the axle

Make the wheel

Slide the axle through the wheel then attach to base

Test spin your wheel

NGSS

Florida - NGSSS

Build

References and Extra Resources

STEAM Classroom

United States

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-1

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-2

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

3-5-ETS1-3

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

MS-ETS1-1

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

MS-ETS1-2

Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

ISTE Students

1.4.c Innovative Designer

Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.

Intro: Wheels and Axles

Overview and Objectives

Lesson Structure

Overview