During this Unit, students will perform several investigations focused on work and simple machines. By completing multiple trials and investigating the effect of different variables, students will begin to draw conclusions concerning the relationship between work, force, and distance. Students will use the formula Work = Force × distance to calculate work and to define and explore the relationship between its components: the force applied to a load and the distance over which the force is applied.
Through investigations centered on simple machines such as the pulley, the lever, and the inclined plane, students will discover the advantages of using simple machines. Students will find that the single fixed pulley offers an advantage by reversing the direction of the applied force. The lever and the inclined plane, however, offer a different type of advantage by altering the force and distance. As the applied force decreases, the distance over which that force is applied must increase. Likewise, the inverse is also true. As the distance over which the force is applied decreases, the applied force must increase.
Through these applications and explorations, students will begin to conceptualize work and the factors that affect it. This Unit will challenge students to apply these ideas to everyday situations, building continuity between classroom investigations
and daily applications.
Conceptual Themes addressed in this Unit:
- Force and Motion