Structures and Mechanisms: Grade 4 - Pulleys and Gears

1. demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of pulleys and gears;
2. design and make pulley systems and gear systems, and investigate how motion is transferred from one system to another;
3. identify ways in which different systems function, and identify appropriate criteria to be considered when designing and making such systems.

Site Name	Online	O.E.	Description
Bricklayer’s lesson in Physics		1,2,3	Tells a story about a bricklayer who got into a lot of trouble because he didn’t know how to set up effective pulley systems. After reading the story, the children are challenged to design a pulley system that would solve the bricklayer’s problems.
SAE World in Motion Kit		1,2	This is an excellent interactive Canadian site created by SAE, the Society of Automotive Engineers. It contains metric lesson plans, definitions, recording sheets and engineer’s links. It is divided into 5 units: Get Moving, Power Up, Slow Down, Move Easy and Airborne.
Explore Science		1,2	This site contains a wide range of simulated activities useful to explore a variety of concepts in the Structures and Mechanisms and Energy and Control Strands.
Hands-On Technology Program		1,2	This site includes a teacher’s guide and a range of experiments related to simple machines. It is suitable for both the grade 3 topics on structures and the grade 4 topics on pulleys and gears.
How Gears Work		1	Basic information on gears.
Get in the Right Gear!		1	Find out how to bike more efficiently by calculating gear ratios.