Student Exploration: Wheel and Axle

Vocabulary: effort, force, load, mechanical advantage, radius, wheel and axle

*The questions highlighted in yellow need to be answered in complete sentences.

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. A ship captain uses a steering wheel (called a “helm”) to turn the

rudder of a sailing ship. Do you think it would be easier for him
to turn a large wheel or a small wheel? Explain why you think so.

The steering wheel diameter and the force required to steer are
inversely proportional. The bigger the steering wheel lesser is
the force needed to steer (torque).

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Gizmo Warm-up: Dragging rocks

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The Wheel and Axle Gizmo™ shows a simple machine called a
wheel and axle. In this machine, turning the outer wheel will

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also turn the inner axle. The axle is connected to a rope that
pulls a load of rocks.
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1. Drag a barbarian to the wheel and press Play ( ). The
barbarian pushes on the wheel with a certain force. Is the
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barbarian strong enough to move the wheel?

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2. Click Reset ( ). Drag more barbarians to the wheel. The total force that the barbarians
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exert on the wheel is called the effort.

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How many barbarians does it take to move the load of rocks? 3

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Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A:
 Click Reset.
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Wheel radius
 Remove all barbarians from the wheel.

Question: How does the Wheel radius affect the force needed to turn the wheel?

1. Observe: The radius of the wheel is the distance from the center of the wheel to the edge.
(You can tell how much force is needed to turn the wheel by checking the smallest number
of barbarians it takes to move it.)

2. Collect data: Find the smallest number of barbarians needed to turn the wheel for each
combination listed below. Click Reset between each trial.

https://www.coursehero.com/file/43760851/WheelAxle-Studentpdf/
 Wheel radius Axle radius Smallest number of barbarians needed
6m 4m 8
8m 4m 6
10 m 4m 5
12 m 4m 4

3. Analyze: How did the effort needed to turn the wheel change as the wheel radius increased?

The effort needed to turn the wheel are inversely proportional to the wheel radius. As the
radius is increased, the number of barbarians needed to turn the wheel reduces.

4. Draw conclusions: Explain how a wheel and axle are useful.

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Wheel and axle can help in reducing the effort required to achieve movement. The amount

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of work remaining same, the force required to start the motion reduces as radius of wheel

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increases.

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Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:
 Click Reset.
 Remove all barbarians from the wheel.
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Axle radius
 Set the Wheel radius to 12 meters.
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Question: How does the Axle radius affect the force needed to turn the wheel?

1. Collect data: First predict the smallest number of barbarians that will be needed to turn the
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wheel for each case listed below. Then use the Gizmo to test your predictions. Also fill in
how far the barbarians had to walk to pull the rocks from point A to point B.
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Wheel Axle Predicted number of Actual number of Distance barbarians

radius radius barbarians needed barbarians needed walked
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12 m 8m 8 8 37.5
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12 m 6m 6 6 50
12 m 4m 4 4 75
12 m 2m 2 2 150

2. Analyze: Look at your data table to answer these questions.

A. How did the effort needed to turn the wheel change as the axle radius decreased?

The effort needed to turn the wheel decreases as the axle radius decreased.

https://www.coursehero.com/file/43760851/WheelAxle-Studentpdf/
 B. How did the distance the barbarians walked change as the axle radius decreased?

The distance the barbarians walked increased as the axle radius decreased

3. Extend your thinking: The wheel and axle is helpful because it reduces the effort needed to
move a load. What is the “price” you have to pay for this help?

The price one has to pay for using wheel and axle to reduce the effort need to move a load
is that one has cover more distance as the work done is a product of effort and distance.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity C:
 Click Reset.
Mechanical
 Set the Wheel radius to 10 meters.
advantage
 Set the Axle radius to 5 meters.

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Question: How does a wheel and axle multiply force?

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1. Collect data: For each case, use the Gizmo to determine the smallest number of barbarians

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needed to turn the wheel and the distance they walked. Click Reset between each trial.

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Wheel
rs e Axle Smallest number of Distance barbarians
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radius radius barbarians needed walked
10 m 5m 6 50
14 m 7m 6 50
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6m 3m 6 50
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2. Analyze: Describe what the data collected means.

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For the same ratio of wheel to axle, the number of barbarians required and distance they
have to walk remains the same.
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Calculate: The mechanical advantage (MA) is a number indicating how much a simple
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machine reduces the effort needed to move a load. The mechanical advantage of a wheel
and axle is roughly equal to the Wheel radius divided by the Axle radius.
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3. Collect data: For each setup below, calculate the mechanical advantage and record the
smallest number of barbarians it takes to move the wheel.

Wheel radius Axle radius Mech. advantage Smallest # of barbarians needed

12 m 3m 4 3

https://www.coursehero.com/file/43760851/WheelAxle-Studentpdf/
 6m 1m 6 2
15 m 5m 3 4

4. Analyze: In each example, multiply the mechanical advantage by the number of barbarians.

A. What pattern do you notice?

The product of the mechanical advantage and the number of barbarians is constant at
12.

B. Challenge: How many barbarians would it take to move the load if there were no wheel

and axle? (Hint: MA = 1.) 12

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https://www.coursehero.com/file/43760851/WheelAxle-Studentpdf/

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