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Simple Machines

The 6 Simple Machines MatchCard gives students practice identifying the basic machines.

weather-instruments

The Six Machines MatchCard

Objective: Identify the six simple machines and their uses.

MatchCard: Download below.
Provides a diagram and information pieces for the following: lever, wheel & axel, inclined plane, wedge, pulley, screw.

Preliminary Activity

Give the students this scenario:

You are stranded on a desert island. You want to build a house, but you will need to move rocks, cut down trees, and lift beams into the air. What will you use?

Allow them to try to move a heavy rock if there is one near by.

Explain that there are six simple machines that we use everyday that make life easier. They do not have engines, motors, or computers. Pioneers used them. Can they guess what they are?

After allowing some time guessing, present them with a collection of items below. Again, give the students opportunity to manipulate and figure how this might make work easier.

Lever

When force is applied at one point on a lever, the bar rotates around a fulcrum to lift an object.

Here are some items that work as levers:

Crow Bar
Hammer with a Claw,
Tweezers
Scissors

Try this: Have a can of paint with the lid firmly sealed on hand. There should be a utensil like a screw driver or spoon nearby which can be used as a lever. Ask them to get the lid off.

The use of a lever requires three things: Work (effort), load (item to be moved), (fulcrum) point around which the force is applied.

Wheel & Axel

A round wheel spins a rod in order to make it move.

If the students said they would use wheels to move the large rocks, ask them how the wheels would work. Get them to consider how the wheel can be attached to a cart.

Here are some things to look at:

wheel barrow
toy cars
sink handles
door knobs

If you have toy building sets (like Legos) that have axels that slip through the center of the wheel, it would be a perfect demonstration.

Inclined Plane

A slanted surface makes it easier to lift objects.

A ramp is an inclined plane. If you have one in your driveway, or entrance to your house that makes a good visual. Remind them of a time they pushed a wagon or stroller up a ramp.

If you have the opportunity, have the push a box of books up an inclined plane, compared to carrying the box. Make the box the appropriate weight for your child.

You can also make an inclined plane out of a hard cover children's book.

Wedge

A pie-shaped edge can be driven into another object in order to split it.

Have some of these wedges on hand. Ask them what they have in common:

axe
push pins
knife

If you used a flat screw driver in the first example (opening the paint can), the screw driver may have acted as a wedge AND a lever. (The wedge pried itself between the lid and rim of the can with the smaller edge of the screwdriver.)

Ask how the wedge and inclined plane are related. (Answer: triangular shape)

Pulley

A rope moves around a wheel to make it easier to lift.

The pulley is the most complicated of the six simple machines. There are kits that allow students to lift weights with one, two, and three sets of pulleys. If this is available, it will give your students a better understanding of how the pulleys work, and how additional pulleys help move objects.

Here are some pulleys you may find in your house:

curtain rod
window blinds
shoe laces
fishing pole

Toy cranes often have simple pulleys that can also demonstrate the action.

Screw

A screw has spiral edges that rotate around a cyliner.

These types of screws should be available to have your students identify:

key ring
light bulb
jar lid
large and small screws

This activity will also show how screws and inclined planes are related to each other.

Take a sheet of paper (8 1/2 X 11 inches)
Cut in half the short way (it will be 4 1/4 inches X 11 inches)
Draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner to divide it into two triangles. Cut on the line so you have the 2 triangles.
Look at one of the triangles with the long flat side down on a table top. Notice that it forms an inclined plane.
Lay a pencil along the short edge. Tape it in place.
Now roll the pencil so the paper triangle wraps around it.
When you are done, you will see the familiar screw shape or barber shop pole spiral.

Download and Use the Six Simple Machines MatchCard

This is the first Matchcard of the Force and Motion Unit Study. You can DOWNLOAD the
6 Simple Machines Matchcard HERE.

The student matches the definitions and descriptions with the diagrams of the simple machines.

The second page is the Instructor's Guide with the correct answers.

The third page has the Information Pieces. Student's cut them apart and place them in the correct place on their copy of the Matchcard (first page.)

For more information on how to use the Matchcards, see the MatchCard Science Instructor's Guide.

More information on this interactive unit study is below.

MatchCard Science

The activities and illustration above are from MatchCard Science, a homeschool science unit study. For the complete Force and Motion Unit Study follow this link. This unit study provides:

hands-on demonstrations
MatchCard reviews to master the material
suggestions for science projects to complete
instructions on a complete unit study curriculum

Currently this curriculum is under-going revision. We are providing free access to the unit study, with the desire that you will provide feedback as you are field testing the materials.

Return Simple Machines MatchCard to the MatchCard Science Main Page.