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D. Structures and Mechanisms · Simple Machines and Movement

Simple Machines and Movement: Unit Review

D1.1 D1.2 D2.1 D2.2 D2.3 D2.4 D2.5 A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A1.5 A2.1 A3.1 A3.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe how objects move and how to change their position.
  • I can name the six simple machines and give an everyday example of each.
  • I can compare the force needed with and without a simple machine.
  • I can describe how simple machines affect people and the environment, and use the design process.

Words to know

force
A push or a pull.
simple machine
A tool with few or no moving parts that makes work easier: lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane, wedge or screw.
fulcrum
The point a lever turns on.
load
The thing being moved or lifted.
effort
The push or pull you use.
compound machine
Two or more simple machines working together.

Let's review!

You have learned how things move, how to change their position, and how the six simple machines make work easier. You have measured forces, met machines made by First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and designed your own machine.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

inclined planea rampwedgetwo ramps back to backscrewa ramp wrapped around a rod
Three machines from one idea: a wedge is two ramps back to back, and a screw is a ramp wrapped around a rod.

How Things Move

1

How does a swing move?

2

How does a ceiling fan move?

3

A skier goes left, right, left down a hill. What is this path called?

4

A toboggan goes down a hill. Does it speed up or slow down?

Pushes, Pulls and Changing Position

1

Is opening a drawer a push or a pull?

2

What pulls a dropped ball down to the floor?

3

A robot faces right. Code: move forward 2, turn right, move forward 1. Where is it now compared to where it started?

Meet the Six Simple Machines

1

Name the six simple machines.

2

Which simple machine is a slide?

3

What do simple machines do?

Levers: Lifting with a Bar

1

What is the point a lever turns on called?

2

To lift a heavy load with a small push, where should the fulcrum go?

3

Name a lever in your home.

Wheel and Axle: Rolling Makes It Easier

1

What is an axle?

2

Dragging a box stretched a rubber band 8 cm. Rolling it on wheels stretched it 2 cm. Which needed less force, and by how much?

3

Which part of a doorknob is the wheel?

Pulleys: Pull Down to Lift Up

1

You pull down on a flagpole rope. Which way does the flag go?

2

What does a fixed pulley change?

3

Which kind of pulley lets you lift with less force?

Inclined Planes: Ramps

1

Is it easier to lift a box straight up or push it up a ramp?

2

Which needs less force: a long, gentle ramp or a short, steep ramp?

3

Name an inclined plane in your community.

Wedges and Screws

1

Which simple machine is an axe?

2

A screw is a ramp wrapped around a...

3

Which cuts more easily: a thin, sharp wedge or a thick, blunt one?

4

Name something at home with a screw thread.

Simple Machines, People and Our Planet

1

What is an ulu, and which simple machine is it?

2

Name a way to travel that makes no air pollution.

3

Give one good effect of a ramp at a community centre.

Design Challenge: Build a Machine to Move a Load

1

What are the steps of the engineering design process?

2

A toy truck rolling up a ramp uses which two simple machines?

3

Your machine stretched the rubber band 6 cm. Lifting stretched it 6 cm. Did it meet the "less force" criteria?

seesaw: leverslide: inclined planeflagpole: pulleywagon:wheel and axle
Simple machines at the playground and park. Which other simple machines can you find outside?
Riddle time

I am a ramp, but I got all wrapped up around a rod. Now I hold things tight when you turn me. What am I?

A screw!

How to use this review

  • Do the review in two short sittings if your child gets tired. Each section matches one lesson.
  • Keep a few real objects nearby (a jar, a toy car, a ruler and marker, scissors held by a grown-up) so your child can show and test answers.
  • Ask "How do you know?" A good answer names the machine and says how it makes work easier.
  • Note which section had mistakes and revisit that lesson's activity.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

How does a merry-go-round move?

2.

A force is...

3.

Which is not one of the six simple machines?

4.

A seesaw is a...

5.

Why is it easier to roll a load in a wagon than to drag it?

6.

A fixed pulley at the top of a flagpole...

7.

Lifting a box stretched a rubber band 10 cm. Pulling it up a ramp stretched it 4 cm. What does this show?

8.

Which is a wedge?

9.

The Métis Red River cart used which simple machine?

10.

In the engineering design process, what comes after test?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Mixes up back and forth with round and round, or can't describe a path: revisit How Things Move and play "How does it move?"
  • Mixes up push and pull, forgets gravity, or has trouble with robot code: revisit Pushes, Pulls and Changing Position and play the robot game again.
  • Can't name the six machines or sorts them wrongly: revisit Meet the Six Simple Machines and redo the scavenger hunt.
  • Doesn't know the fulcrum, or puts it in the wrong place: revisit Levers: Lifting with a Bar and the ruler lever.
  • Thinks wheels make a load lighter, or forgets the axle: revisit Wheel and Axle: Rolling Makes It Easier and the truck test.
  • Thinks every pulley makes the pull smaller: revisit Pulleys: Pull Down to Lift Up and the spool pulley.
  • Can't explain why a ramp helps, or mixes up steep and gentle: revisit Inclined Planes: Ramps and the rubber band ramp test.
  • Mixes up wedge, screw and inclined plane: revisit Wedges and Screws and make the paper screw.
  • Sees machines as only good or only bad, or can't name Indigenous technologies: revisit Simple Machines, People and Our Planet.
  • Skips testing or improving, or changes many things at once: revisit Design Challenge: Build a Machine to Move a Load and try the challenge with a new load.

A few mistakes are normal. Praise answers that name a simple machine and explain how it makes work easier, careful measuring, and good ideas for improving a design.