What are simple machines?
The term “simple machines” (also referred to as force-saving, force-converting or labour-saving machines) covers tools or mechanical devices that serve to convert a force or optimise the effect of a force. Examples of simple machines are the rope, the lever, the pulley and the inclined plane (wedge), which are found in some combination in almost every power machine. [1]
This results in a wide variety of topics that can be easily explored by the pupils in a playful way. The task sheets are formulated according to the educational plans in a skills-oriented way. The objective is to control, reflect and evaluate your own thinking when solving problems and thus build up new knowledge. Problems are to be recognised, problem-solving strategies developed and applied.
- Joints and hinges: How can something be pivoted and hinged?
- Pawls in many forms and applications: How can something be prevented from moving in the wrong direction?
- Lever mechanisms: Experiencing the action of levers, pivoting levers, multiple coupled levers.
- Eccentric: Converting a rotary motion into a back-and-forth motion, shown in different scenarios.
- Spring mechanisms: Resetting mechanisms by means of spring force, springs as energy stores – shown using natural and easy to grasp model situations.
- Wire rope hoists and pulleys – to be tried out step by step in various configurations.
- Linear motions along guide rails.
If we look around a little, we see simple and complex mechanisms almost everywhere. They play a large, if often unrecognised or hidden, role in the environment. From simple levers to the mechanisms in a room door to cranes to diverse sophisticated solutions to one and the same task.
The examination of simple machines is justified because of their high relevance to the world of life and the culturally anchored knowledge that is linked to them. [2]