Year 5 Science Day - levers, gears and pulleys

Date: 31st Jan 2022 @ 9:27pm

Friday was Science day in Year 5 and we had lots of fun learning about different types of mechanisms.

The children listened to Sid the Mill worker explain how levers, pulleys and gears are used when making flour.  We were surprised to find out that gears in a mill are often made from wood rather than metal bcause they are quieter and run more smoothly!

After this, we had the lever challenge.  The children had to create a seesaw (a type of lever!) using their ruler and pen.  They had to try to balance different stationary to make the lever balance in the middle.  It wasn't as easy as it looked and took a lot of perseverance and adjustments.

Next, the children made their own pulleys and had to choose their own line of enquiry to investigate.  Some children chose to investigate if the material that the pulley was made out of affected its performance.  Others chose to investigate if the length of the string was important.  A group of children decided to see if the weight being pulled by the pulley affected the performance.  The children worked really well and were surprised by some of their findings.

Our final task of the day was to investigate gears.  Each pair had a selection of gear wheels which they combined in different ways to they moved in relation to one another.

All in all, it was a fantastic day!