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Summer 2009

Not So Simple Machines (Grades: 4-6)

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Build the simple machines that ran the world before electronics and computer chips were invented. Create a catapult as an example of the use of a lever. Rig up a water wheel from simple materials to demonstrate a wheel and axle machine. Explore how Archimedes' screw was used in early irrigation projects (Ancient Egypt), and create an example of a spiral plane. Learn about the variety of simple machines: wheel and axle, incline plane, levers, screws and wedges. Calculate the forces needed to do some simple tasks and discover the mechanical advantage of using simple machines to do the work. Working in teams, construct a modern trebuchet, a medieval machine used for hurling stones, and finish the week with a contest to see which trebuchet launches a projectile the furthest distance.

Prerequisite(s):