Grade: 2
Lab #: 3, Simple Machines, Motion & Friction
(revised 7/20/14)
Materials:
Material
Class Observation
Worksheets – Stations 1, 2
&3
3 toy cars
3 foam board ramps
1 foam board ramp
covered in foil
1 foam board ramp
covered in felt
Books or wooden blocks
to use for different heights
of inclined planes
6 wooden dowels
6 rulers
60 pennies
Napkins or Paper towels
Salad Tongs
Spatula
Lint Roller
Paint Roller
Screw Driver
Jar Lid
Can Opener
Tweezers
Paint Brush
Nail
Source*
Science Lab Binder
Notes
Will need to make enough copies for
each student in each class. (approx.
25/class)
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Parent Donation
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Lab Kit
Check Lab Kit first
Screw
Lab Kit
Clothes Line Pulley
Lab Kit
Pliers
Lab Kit
Toy Car Wheel
Lab Kit
Pizza Cutter
Lab Kit
Door Stop
Lab Kit
Paint Scraper
Lab Kit
Paper Grocery Bag
Lab Kit
*Some of the items marked as Parent Donation may be available from the prior year. Check the
lab kit before asking parents to donate the items.
Set up in lab prior to classes arriving:
 Make copies of worksheets, “Observation Sheet – Stations 1, 2 &
3”. Roughly 25 per class OR enough for 1 per student.
 Ensure all materials needed are available in lab bin prior to lab
day
 Pass out worksheet and pencils
Job(s) for volunteers on the day of the lab:
 Set up lab based on instructions listed above.
 Teachers are responsible for introducing and leading the lab with
parent volunteers assisting with the activities at each station.
 Clean up lab and return all materials to bin and shelf in lab.
Grade: 2
Lab #: 3, Simple Machines, Motion & Friction
(revised 7/20/14)
Learning Goal for Lab:
The purpose of this lab is for students to become familiar with the six kinds of
simple machines and understand how they work.
Station 1 – Identifying Simple Machines
Background/Talking Points
Talk to students about the six different types of simple machines. Machines are devices that
help make work easier for people. Most machines consist of a number of elements, such as
gears and ball bearings that work together in a complex way. But no matter how complex they
are, all machines are made of one or more of the six types of simple machines. Historically,
simple machines were invented and used long before anyone ever classified them.
See if students can name all 6 types of simple machines.
Inclined Plane
A plane is a flat surface. For example, a smooth board is a plane. Now, if the
plane is lying flat on the ground, it isn't likely to help you do work. However,
when that plane is inclined, or slanted, it can help you move objects across
distances. And, that's work! A common inclined plane is a ramp. Lifting a
heavy box onto a loading dock is much easier if you slide the box up a ramp-a simple machine.
Wedge
Instead of using the smooth side of the inclined plane, you can also use the
pointed edges to do other kinds of work. For example, you can use the edge to
push things apart. Then, the inclined plane is a wedge. So, a wedge is actually
a kind of inclined plane. An axe blade is a wedge. Think of the edge of the
blade. It's the edge of a smooth slanted surface.
Screw
Now, take an inclined plane and wrap it around a cylinder. Its sharp edge
becomes another simple tool: the screw. Put a metal screw beside a ramp and
it's kind of hard to see the similarities, but the screw is actually just another
kind of inclined plane. How does the screw help you do work? Every turn of a
metal screw helps you move a piece of metal through a wooden space. And,
that's how we build things!
Lever
Try pulling a really stubborn weed out of the ground. Using just your bare
hands, it might be difficult or even painful. With a tool, like a hand shovel,
however, you should win the battle. Any tool that pries something loose is a
lever. A lever is an arm that "pivots" (or turns) against a "fulcrum" (or point).
Think of the claw end of a hammer that you use to pry nails loose. It's a lever.
It's a curved arm that rests against a point on a surface. As you rotate the
curved arm, it pries the nail loose from the surface. And that's hard work!
Wheel and Axle
The rotation of the lever against a point pries objects loose. That rotation
motion can also do other kinds of work. Another kind of lever, the wheel and
axle, moves objects across distances. The wheel, the round end, turns the axle,
the cylindrical post, causing movement. On a wagon, for example, the bucket
rests on top of the axle. As the wheel rotates the axle, the wagon moves.
Pulley
Instead of an axle, the wheel could also rotate a rope or cord. This variation of
the wheel and axle is the pulley. In a pulley, a cord wraps around a wheel. As
the wheel rotates, the cord moves in either direction. Now, attach a hook to
the cord, and you can use the wheel's rotation to raise and lower objects. On a
flagpole, for example, a rope is attached to a pulley. On the rope, there are
usually two hooks. The cord rotates around the pulley and lowers the hooks
where you can attach the flag. Then, rotate the cord and the flag raises high on
the pole.
Talk about different types of simple machines that we use every day. Examples of each are
listed below:
Lever
Wedge
Screw
Wheel barrow
Knife
Salad Tongs
Ax
Pencil
Sharpener
Wood Screw
Pliers
See saw
Nail
Fork
Propeller
Windmill
Rake
Paint Brush
Apple Cutter
Hoe
Jar Lid
Hose Nozzle
Shovel
Pizza Cutter
Drill Bit
Tweezers
Paint Scraper
Bottle Opener
Spatula
Car Jack
Ship
Door Stop
Materials Needed
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Salad tongs
Spatula
Nail
Screw
Lint roller
Paint roller
Screw Driver
Jar Lid
Can opener
Tweezers
Paint Brush
Clothes Line Pulley
Pliers
Toy Car Wheel
Pizza Cutter
Door Stop
Paint Scraper
Paper Grocery Bag
Wheel &
Axel
Bike Wheel
Potter’s
Wheel
Ferris Wheel
Egg Beater
Gears
Steering
Wheel
Door Knob
Rolling Pin
Tires
Lint Roller
Paint roller
Can Opener
Pulley
Elevator
Pulley
Drapery Pull
Inclined
Plane
Slide
Stairs
Crane
Flag Pole
Pulley
Clothes line
Sailboat Sails
Driveway
Conveyor
Belt
Escalator
Boat Ramp
Window
Washer
Scaffolding
Wheel Chair
Ramp
Procedures
1. Gather all materials listed above and place inside paper bag so that kids can’t see them.
2. One at a time, have students reach in and feel for a machine.
3. Have the student answer the questions below about the machine they feel (while they
still have it in the bag)
 Is it hard or soft?
 Is it rough or smooth?
 Is it large or small?
 What do you think it is made of?
 Who might use it and for what reason?
4. Have the student try to guess what the object is and then remove it from the bag.
5. Have students discuss and record what type of simple machine the object is on the
station 2 observation sheet.
Station 1 - Observation Sheet
Object
Type of Simple Machine
Grade: 2
Lab #: 3, Simple Machines, Motion & Friction
(revised 7/20/14)
Station 2 – Friction and Inclined Planes
At this station, students will build tracks and conduct race car experiments to test the effects of increasing
the tracks' angle of incline and then the tracks' surface texture on the speed of the cars.
Materials Needed
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3 toy cars
3 foam board ramps to be used as inclined planes
2 additional foam board ramps – one covered in foil and one covered in felt
Books or wooden blocks to use for different heights of inclined planes
Procedure
1. Set up 3 tracks of varying inclines using ramps 1, 2 & 3 and books or wooden blocks.
2. Have students make hypothesis on station 2 observation sheet about which car will make its way
down the track first, second and third and why.
3. After the test, discuss or have students write about the outcome of the races.
4. Substitute one of the tracks with the foil covered foam board and one with the felt covered foam
board.
5. Set up tracks against books or blocks of equal height.
6. Repeat the races having students hypothesize before which car they believe will win.
7. After repeating the race several times have students reflect on the effect of the tracks' textures on
the outcomes of the races.
8. Discuss Friction - Friction is a force that slows down objects when they rub against each other.
Friction also causes the objects to get warmer. Smooth surfaces cause less friction than rough
ones. Smooth surfaces do not slow down moving things as much. It is easier to ride a bike with a
smooth, clean chain than a rough, rusty one.
Station 2 - Observation Sheet
Hypothesis 1 (same ramps, different inclines) – Which car will make it down the ramp first and why?
_________________________________________________________
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Observation 1 (different ramps, same inclines) – Was your hypothesis correct? Did the slope of the
ramp affect the speed of the car?
_________________________________________________________
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Hypothesis 2 (different ramps, same inclines) – Which car will make it down the ramp first and why?
_________________________________________________________
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Observation 2 (different ramps, same inclines) – Was your hypothesis correct? How did the material
on the ramp impact the speed of the cars? How does friction come in to play in what you observed?
_________________________________________________________
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Grade: 2
Lab #: 3, Simple Machines, Motion & Friction
(revised 7/20/14)
Station 3 – How does a lever work?
At this station students will learn how a lever works
Background Information/Talking points
There are three classes of levers. The model below is a first class lever. There are also second and third
class levers.
A lever has three parts: effort, fulcrum, and resistance (or load). The fulcrum is the point on which the
lever pivots. This allows the weight to be moved a short distance with a concentrated amount of force
(effort).
Examples of levers include: see-saws and car jacks (first class), wheelbarrows and nutcrackers (second
class), and shovels and brooms (third class).
E = effort R = resistance F = fulcrum
R
E
F
Materials Needed
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Rulers – one per student
Pennies – 10 per student
Wooden Dowels – one per student
Napkins or paper towels
Procedure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Give each student one ruler, one wooden dowel, one napkin or paper towel and 10 pennies
Students should lay the dowel on a napkin or paper towel to prevent it from rolling.
Have the students try to balance the ruler at the 6 inch mark
Place the pennies on the ruler’s ends to help it balance. Predict and then record how many
pennies on each side to balance.
Move the dowel to the 3 inch mark.
Place the pennies on the ruler’s ends to balance. Predict and then record how many pennies on
each side to balance.
Move the dowel to the 10 inch mark.
Place the pennies on the ruler’s ends to balance. Predict and then record how many pennies on
each side to balance.
Move the dowel to any mark you chose.
Place the pennies on the ruler’s ends to balance. Predict and then record how many pennies on
each side to balance.
Station 3 - Observation Sheet
Lever Position
Left Side
Prediction
Left Side
Actual
Right Side
Prediction
Right Side
Actual
6 inches
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
3 inches
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
10 inches
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
__ inches
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pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
________
pennies
Explain what happened when the lever changed positions:
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Explain how the lever is a simple machine:
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