Science for Everyone: Understanding Mechanical Advantage

Monday, November 5, 2012

Understanding Mechanical Advantage

What machines will a mouse trap car have? Well, you need a body, wheels, and a mousetrap.

The mousetrap is a lever. What type? Does this make things faster or easier?

Here, we have two machines (3rd class lever and a wheel and axle) with an AMA less than 1. What does this do for the racer? How can we maximize this factor for the wheels?

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Sci.SI1.1: Using experimentation, students will contrast types of forces

Benchmark assessment: Students will create a Video voiceover a clip on YouTube, taking the role of a science broadcast announcer.

Components

Students will:

Sci.SI1.1.1 Demonstrate how balanced and unbalanced forces are related to motion.

Sci.SI1.1.2 Test, collect data, and verify Newton's laws of motion.

Sci.SI1.1.3 Contrast forces that act from a distance, including gravitation and magnetism.

Sci.SI1.1.4 Explain how mass and weight differ at different locations in the universe.

Sci.SI1.2: Through research and inquiry, students will apply the concepts of transverse waves to the use of sound and light wave technology.

Benchmark assessment: Student will synthesize their knowledge of light and sound waves to make a musical instrument that can play at least four distinct pitches and use the music created as part of a shadow puppet show.

Components

Students will:

Sci.SI1.2.1 Experiment with sound and light waves to identify the following structures or relationships: crests, troughs, frequency, wavelengths, amplitude, energy transmission, resonance(standing waves) and speed

Sci.SI1.2.2 Identify and experiment with part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Sci.SI1.2.3 Use light to create penumbras, umbras, and colored shadows.

Sci.SI1.2.4 Experiment with wind or string instruments of varying pitch.

Sci.SI1.3: Through experimentation, Students will observe energy transformations, including potential and kinetic energy

Benchmark assessment: Students will create mousetrap cars and reflect upon the energy transformations.

Components

Students will:

Sci.SI1.3.1 Model changes in gravitational potential energy, spring potential energy, and kinetic energy.

Sci.SI1.3.2 Examine the energy changes in a variety of simple machines

Sci.SI1.3.3 Analyze the effectiveness of a machine for a job using its actual mechanical advantage.

Sci.SI1.4: Using inquiry and models, students will utilize alternative energies.

Benchmark assessment: Students will build a structure that allows us to utilize solar or wind energy in a useful way.

Students will:

Sci.SI1.4.1: Experiment with passive and active solar energy.

Sci.SI1.4.2: Experiment with models of wind energy.

Sci.SI1.4.3? Explain energy transformations in alternative energies.

Sci.SI1.5: Students will model heat transfer mechanisms as a rationale for weather and plate movement on the earth.

Benchmark assessment: Students will create a coloring book that shows the concepts of the chapter in a way that is understandable to a young reader.

Students will:

Sci.SI1.5.1: Contrast convection, conduction, and radiation inside the earth, in its water and weather patterns, and from the sun.

Sci.SI1.5.2: Examine the prevailing winds at different locations on earth, and discuss the movement of weather systems.

Sci.SI1.5.3 Model plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanos.

Sci.SI1.5.4: Analyze fossils and other technologies for tracking plate movement

Sci.SI1.6: Students will apply knowledge of geochemical cycles to the issue of climate change.

Benchmark Assessment: Students will come up with a life plan that discusses their usage of various cycles and ways to minimize their effect on the planet.

Students will:

Sci.SI1.6.1: Diagram movement of material between geochemical reservoirs.

Sci.SI1.6.2: Contrast the effect of various geochemical cycles on temperature and atmospheric concentration.

Sci.SI1.6.3: Quantify amounts of material found in reservoirs through visual and experimental models.

Sci.SI1.6.4: Explore ways to minimize their carbon footprint.

Sci.SI1.7: Students will apply their knowledge of the origin and scale of

space.

Benchmark Assessment: Students will create museum exhibits that are interactive, visual and three-dimensional to illustrate their understanding of the components.

Students will:

Sci.SI1.7.1: Model the solar system size and scale.

Sci.SI1.7.2: Examine distances in the cosmos based upon the concept of light speed.

Sci.SI1.7.3: Create time scales for geology on earth, the formation of the solar system, and the big bang.

Sci.SI1.7.4: Examine the process of radioactivity in a star like our Sun, and model its life cycle.