South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Machines at Work (Grades 4-6)

Master Teacher

Lori Givens

Time Allotment

Three to four 40-minute class periods

Overview

Do we really ever stop and think about how machines make our day to day activities so much easier? Students will review simple machines and the advantage they provide while constructing and analyzing compound machines.

Subject Matter

Physical Science/Simple and Compound Machines

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Construct simple/compound machines.
Analyze the advantages machines provide.

South Carolina Curriculum Standards

(These Standards are available online at http://www.myscschools.com/offices/cso.)

IV. Physical Science

Units of Study: Machines and Work

Motion and Forces

• If more than one force acts on an object along a straight line, then the forces will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude. Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion.

• Construct and analyze simple machines to analyze forces and distances.

• Investigate how using simple machines can reduce the force required to do the same amount of work done without a machine by increasing the distance required to move an object.

Media Components

Video

Simple Machines: A First Look

"Simple Machines: A Review" (:58). This clip is a review of simple machines. It discusses machines and then shows real world examples of the six simple machines.

Discovering Simple Machines: Compound Machines

"Compound Machines" (2:51). This clip looks at many real world examples of compound machines. With each example, the different simple machines that make up the compound machine are discussed.

To access these video clips, log on to your account at ETV's StreamlineSC Web page ( http://etv.streamlinesc.org ). In the search by keyword box, type in the series title (Simple Machines: A First Look or Discovering Simple Machines: Compound Machines) and hit go. Click the series title and then click the video segment you want and download it to your desktop.

( Note to Teacher: If you don't have an account with ETV's StreamlineSC , check with your media specialist about signing up for an account.)

Web Sites

EdHeads

http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.htm

This interactive Web site allows students to identify simple and compound machines used around the house and in the garage. Students find a machine, click on it, and answer questions about the simple machines.

Quia

http://www.quia.com/pages/hostetterscience.html#simple

This Web site serves as a review for simple machines. There are two quizzes on simple machines, as well as several games. The games available include concentration, hangman, matching, and word scrambles.

Materials

Per Class

• Various simple machines (screwdriver, nutcracker, board for ramp or incline, bottle opener, pulley system, cart or chair with wheels, scissors)

• Task cards

Per Student

• Science notebook

Equipment

Computer with Internet access to share video from ETV's StreamlineSC
LCD Projector
Computer lab so each student can manipulate the Web sites

Prep for Teachers

Set up your free StreamlineSC account so you will have access to all United Streaming videos. Check with your media center or technology specialist for a passcode if you have never used StreamlineSC .

Download the video clips listed under Media Components from ETV's StreamlineSC Web site to your desktop.

Bookmark the list of Web sites.

Load plug-ins that may be needed for the Web site simulations to work properly. The following plug-ins are needed: Media Player or Quick Time, Java, and Flash. You will also need Internet Explorer 4 or higher to view one of the Web sites.

When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction , a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Ask your students:

"What is a simple machine?" (Accept all answers.)

"What are the advantages a simple machine provides?" (Possible answers include: makes work easier, allows you to move objects a further distance, decreases amount of effort/force needed.)

Step 2: Divide the class into groups of three or four and give each group a task card to complete that would be easier to do if using a simple machine. Examples include: opening a can of paint, cracking a pecan, opening a bottle top, carrying a heavy load, lifting a load onto a high shelf, moving a stroller or wheelchair from one level to another, screwing a screw into a board, cutting cardboard, etc.

Step 3: Have students work in their groups and try to accomplish their task cards. Groups should come up with a method or machine that would make the task easier to accomplish. Tell students to give their proposal to you and you will in turn give students the simple machines they asked for. Examples include: screwdriver for paint can, nutcracker for pecan, bottle opener for bottle top, piece of board for a ramp for the stroller, wheelbarrow or cart for carrying heavy load, pulley for lifting load onto shelf, screwdriver for screw, scissors for cutting, etc.

Step 4: Students will use the simple machine to complete their task.

Step 5: Instruct students to explain how the simple machine made their task easier to complete in their science notebooks.

Step 6: As a class have the groups discuss the task cards and the simple machines they used.

Learning Activity

Step 1: To access prior knowledge and review simple machines, students will go to http://www.quia.com/pages/hostetterscience.html#simple . They should click on "Simple Machines Pop Up Game." Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by telling students to read the question and click on the correct answer.

Step 2: Check for Understanding by viewing the last page of the quiz or have the students print out the last page of the quiz. The last page shows how many questions the student answered correctly.

Step 3: Tell students that they are going to view a short video clip to review the types of simple machines. Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction by asking them to list the six simple machines that are discussed in the video.

Step 4: BEGIN the video clip entitled "Simple Machines: A Review." PLAY the entire clip.

Step 5: Have students name the six simple machines mentioned in the video.

Step 6: After students have named all six simple machines, have students name real world examples of each of the simple machines.

Step 7: Ask students, "What simple machines are used in a wheelbarrow?" (wheel and axle, lever) Tell students that when more than one simple machine works together in a system, then the system is called a compound machine.

Step 8: Tell the students, "We are now going to watch a video clip on compound machines." Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking the students to name the simple machines that make up a can opener.

Step 9: BEGIN the clip entitled "Compound Machines." PAUSE the video when you see the can opener on the screen and after you hear the statement, "This compound machine is made up of three simple machines. Can you tell what they are?" (:35)

Step 10: When the screen is paused, ask students to name the simple machines. (lever, wheel and axle, and wedge)

Step 11: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking the students to name the simple machines that make up the tree pruner.

Step 12: PLAY the video. PAUSE the video when the tree pruner is on the screen and after you hear the statement, "Look at it closely and identify its simple machines." (1:05)

Step 13: When the screen is paused, ask students to name the simple machines. (lever, wedge)

Step 14: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to name the simple machines that make up scissors.

Step 15: PLAY the video. PAUSE the video when you see the scissors on the screen and after you hear the statement, "Can you identify the two simple machines that are used in its design?" (1:46)

Step 16: When the screen is paused, ask students to name the simple machines. (lever and wedge)

Step 17: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking the students to listen for why longer handles on a lever make work easier.

Step 18: PLAY the video. PAUSE the video when you see the diagram of the lever and after you hear the statement, "So, you want the effort far from the fulcrum and the resistance close to the fulcrum." (2:28)

Step 19: When the screen is paused, discuss their answers. (Possible answer: Longer handles makes it easier to cut through tough metals.)

Step 20: Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to name the simple machines that make up the wheelbarrow.

Step 21: PLAY the video. At the end of the video clip, ask students what simple machines made up the wheelbarrow. (wheel and axle, lever)

Step 22: Tell students, "Write in your science notebooks some examples of compound machines. Beside each machine, write down the simple machines that make the compound machine.

Step 23: Tell students, "We are now going to take the information you have gained from the online quiz and the video clips to participate in an interactive simple machines Web site.

Step 24: Allow students to access http://www.edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/index.htm . Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by instructing students to choose two rooms in "The House" to participate in and to complete all the activities in "The Garage."

Step 25: Check for Understanding by monitoring student progress as they are completing the activity. Also, at the end of each activity, the student's score is displayed.

Culminating Activity

Step 1: Tell students:

"You have a special task that you are going to work on today. As a group you need to think of a task that would be easier to complete if you had the help of a simple or compound machine. This needs to be a new and maybe slightly crazy task. For example, you would not choose sweeping the floor because there is already a simple machine to aid in that chore. You may want to lift your brother's smelly socks from the top bunk and carry them to the dirty clothes basket without touching them.

After the task has been decided, your group needs to design and construct a simple or compound machine to complete your task. You will have two days to complete this project. Today, your group will determine the task and will design the machine(s). You will bring in the supplies you need to build your machine and complete the task tomorrow. Tomorrow during class, you will build your machine(s) and then use the machine to complete the task your group designed."

Step 2: Students are given the rubric on how they will be assessed during the duration of the project.

Step 3: Students may begin the project. Students should write in their science notebooks the task they are going to complete and draw and label a diagram of the machine(s) they will build.

Cross-Curricular Extensions:

Math: Calculate the amount of work exerted when using a machine.

To help rearrange the furniture in your classroom, you exert a force of 20 N to push a desk 10 meters. How much work do you do?

A hydraulic lift raises a 12,000 N car 2 meters. How much work is done on the car?

Work = Force x Distance

Community Connections

Bring in speakers from various occupations that use large compound machines (Department of Transportation employees, builders, workers at companies that sell construction equipment, etc)