Dear Bloggers,
Year 1/2S sequentially built models investigating the actions of gears. The lesson culminated with the building of a ride where students were challenged to create a gearing system spinning the riders as fast as possible. Wow did the pupils get up some speed especially the talented extension workers who used compound gearing. Well done 1/2S you rock.
Some of our compound gearing champions……well done boys.
Thanks for calling by
Mrs Garlick
Dear Bloggers,
The students made a double car launcher identical in all ways except for the length of the propelling axle. The pupils predicted, measured and used a fair test to determine which one propelled the car the greatest distance. They proposed theories to explain why this was so. Applying their new knowledge they were challenged to design the ultimate launcher to propel the car as far as possible.
Thanks for calling by
Mrs Garlick
Dear Bloggers,
The students made a ‘Measuring Car’ with a dial on the back so they could record how far the cars travelled. The gearing setup used a worm gear to slow down the hand of the dial so, like clock hands, it would move slowly allowing students to make and record their measurements. The car was then rolled down 2 slopes (15cm and 25cm high respectively) from 50cm and 90cm down the ramp. Students predicted what number their dial would read and then tested their predictions. The pupils’ found over time as their experiences built their predictions became more accurate.
Thanks for calling by
Mrs Garlick
Dear Bloggers,
1/2S and the rest of Year 2 investigated balance in their classes last week. They built a see-saw which is a first order lever. We identified the pivot, effort and load. Initially the students used the large lego from Early simple Machines to create their see-saw and create balance with equal effort and laod weights an equal distance from the pivot. Students were then challenged to create balance where the load was 3 times heavier than the effort without adding extra effort.
The Alexandra and Claudia were amongst the first to solve the problem. They moved the heavy load in closer to the pivot (reduced the load arm) for partial success but also elongated the see saw on the other side and moved the effort even further out. Balance was achieved. Well done girls that was a very impressive solution to the challenge. The students then used the smaller lego from the Simple Machine Kits to translate their design into a smaller format using many new pieces.
Thanks for calling by
Mrs Garlick
Dear Bloggers,
Year 2 made a spinning top launcher whilst investigating gears. The picture below shows the basic design brief.
The students made a double sided spinning top that could be launched using the small blue gear or the medium sized red gear. They experimented to see the differences.
They discovered that using the small blue on the top with the large yellow gear on the launcher spun the top the fastest. This is a gearing up setup where a large drive gear turns a small driven or follower gear.
That was just the beginning. The students had to design and make a non hand held launcher, launch several tops at one time, investigate what made the top stable and make the design more robust. This is what they came up with.
A non hand held launch pad with a hinged lift off head
Thanks for calling by
Mrs Garlick