Simple Machines
Six devices that make work easier, and the trade you always make to get that help.
What this lesson covers
Simple Machines is a 9-part Class 5 Science lesson. Each part makes one point and then hands over to the next, so it can be read in a sitting or picked up again at the part you stopped on. It defines the idea in plain words before using it, works through an example step by step, breaks the topic into its parts and compares them, shows where it is used outside the textbook, names the mistakes that cost marks in an exam, ends with a recap of what to remember.
How it begins
A simple machine is a device that makes work easier by changing the size or direction of a force. There are six: lever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane (ramp), wedge and screw. They have no motor and often no moving parts. Their advantage comes entirely from their shape.
The 9 parts
- Making a job easier
- What each one does
- The trade you always make
- Where to put the fulcrum
- Why a ramp is worth the extra distance
- Machines you use daily
- Where it usually goes wrong
- What to remember
- Watch one worked through
Practise Simple Machines
Everything on QuizByt for Class 5 Science that goes with this lesson: read it first, then test yourself while it is fresh.
🧠 7 quizzes on Simple Machines (4 easy, 2 medium, 1 hard)
Work up from easy to hard: the hard quiz asks the Class 5 exam-style questions on Simple Machines.
🖨️ Printable worksheet
Simple Machines on paper for Class 5, with room to write the working out. Preview the first page free.
🎮 Games for Class 5 Science
Memory and reasoning games at the right level for Class 5. Passing a quiz on Simple Machines earns the credits that open them.
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