Physical
Science: Simple Machines
Its time for fun -- exploring soap bubbles and making bubble prints.
A soap bubble is a thin film of soap and water stretch by the
air inside. The soap film is stretchable. Remember what happens
when you blow into a bubble wand? If you blow quickly and hard,
nothing much happens. However, if you blow slowly and gently,
the soap film that is stretch across the surface of the wand will
start to stretch more until a bubble is formed. Why does it form
a sphere? Well, a sphere is the shape that provides the most space
of the air with the least stretching of the soap film. Soap film
always contracts to make the smallest possible surface that can
contain the air inside it.
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(grades
K-3)  |
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| Goals:
Simple machines are used everyday. They are found in the kitchen,
on the playground, and in the classroom. They can be of assistance
to us such as opening a can or lifting a heavy object or they
can be used for amusement like a seesaw. The goal of this lab
is to expose the girls to some common simple machines, learn how
they work, and then let them build and design. |
Simple Machines
: Teacher Notes
Download: (Abobe
Acrobat Reader required--download
free reader)
Print the "Simple
Machines" Teacher's Notes.
Print the "Simple Machines
Glossary."
Print the
"Simple Machines Design Challenge" activity sheets.
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Equipment
Needed:
This experiment is designed to be done in teams of 2-4. Enough
equipment is included for 8 teams.
- 8 Lego Dacta Primary Simple Machines Building Sets with activity
cards (green and blue)
- Instructor activity card set (red and yellow)
- 3 Design challenge card sets (laminated)
- Simple Machine glossary (laminated)
- Copies of paper models, scissors, colored pencils.
- Lego Dacta Early Simple Machines Teacher Guide (book)
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Before You Begin:
This lab is best started with a general discussion of simple machines.
Before the lab, familiarize yourself with the simple machine glossary.
Use the glossary and the Lego parts in one of the building kits
to demonstrate a gear, a pulley, and a lever.
Continue the discussion using the yellow activity cards numbered
1-6. On the front of each card is a picture of a child using a
common object. On the back is some questions and comments to stimulate
a discussion with the students. This discussion should give the
students a general introduction to simple machines. They will
learn more as they build some sample machines and later design
their own.
Building a Simple Machine
The best way to learn about a machine is to build one. Break the
students into 8 groups. Give each team a building set and a set
of activity cards. The green cards are designed to familiarize
the students with the pieces in the building set. If the students
are new to Legos then these may be helpful, otherwise proceed
to the blue cards. Have the teams build at least 2 models each.
You can assign which models to build or let them choose. Models
2-6 are the best examples of simple machines. The phone in model
1 is a little far-fetched.
Designing a Simple Machine
In this activity the students are encouraged to work as a team
to design a simple machine to complete the specified task. Give
each team a design challenge card. These challenges are the same
that are on the red cards. You can show the students the red cards
for inspiration. Allow the teams to share their creations with
each other.
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