SCIENCE
Wednesday 13th January 2021 WALT: Recognise simple machines that use levers
Create a mind map with the word lever in the middle. Write or draw anything you know about levers already.
Now watch this clip Super Simple Machines: Levers - YouTube (she is American so she says the word differently to us – we say “lee-ver”. She is also very excited, but I picked her because she does explain it well).
Now, in a different colour add as much new information you have about levers (including technical words, how they work and real life examples) to your mind map.
Create a simple lever using a book or ruler or anything you have to hand. Place un unbreakable object on one end (load). Draw a picture of it labelling the load and the fulcrum.
Then quickly push down on the other end (force) to create a catapult. Measure how far your object went (with a tape measure if you have one or how many of your feet if you don’t). Record this in a table.
Now try moving the position of the fulcrum closer to the load. What do you think will happen? Write a prediction.
What will you have to keep the same to make it a fair test? Write this down under the heading fair test.
Try it and record the result.
Explain why you got this result in a conclusion. Try to use these words: lever, fulcrum, load, force, gravity, air resistance.