Machines and Moments

Aims

To provide information and resources to support teachers in the following areas:

• simple machines, including ramps, levers and pulleys
• the turning effect of levers
• balanced clockwise and anticlockwise moments

Pupils should be able to:

• explain how simple machines make jobs easier
• identify levers in everyday situations
• label the pivot, load and effort in a range of levers
• calculate the turning effect of simple levers

Key Vocabulary

effort
force
lever
load
machine
moment
pivot
pulley
ramp