Levers, Pulleys & Gears · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Levers, Pulleys, and Gears

Science · Forces & Motion · ages 9-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Two gears touching at their outer edges turn in opposite directions.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. Which object could serve as the stiff bar of a lever?

    • A loose length of string
    • A stiff length of wood
    • A soft strip of fabric

  3. Mia uses a seesaw lever to lift Cole. In lever words, what is Cole?

    • The effort
    • The pivot
    • The load

  4. Nia places a stiff stick over a support stone. She pushes one end down and the stick turns on the stone to lift a rock at the other end. Which mechanism is this?

    • A pulley
    • A lever
    • A gear pair

  5. A seesaw has a fixed pivot between its ends. Mia's end moves down. What happens to the other end?

    • It moves up
    • It moves down
    • It stays still

  6. The chart compares lifting the same load. How many force units does this lever need?

    Directlift7With lever2

    Answer: ______________

  7. A hand-cranked mixer has matching toothed wheels between its handle and beaters. Which mechanism passes the handle's turning to the beaters?

    • A pulley
    • A lever
    • Gears

  8. In a clock, a big gear drives a smaller gear with matching teeth. How does the smaller gear's turning speed compare with the bigger gear's?

    • The smaller gear turns more slowly
    • The two gears turn at equal speeds
    • The smaller gear turns more quickly

  9. Leela says a small gear driving a bigger matching gear can give a greater turning effect at the bigger gear's axle. Ignore friction. Is her claim correct?

    • No, only the turning speed can change
    • No, the teeth stop passing motion on
    • Yes, the turning effect can increase

  10. Omar uses a lever with a longer effort arm and a shorter load arm. He says needing less force means his box now weighs less. Is his claim correct?

    • Yes, the box loses weight when lifted
    • No, its weight stays the same
    • Yes, the pivot removes its gravity
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Levers, Pulleys, and Gears W1-mt_Q2k3fSwyzQ-s1

  1. True · If one of these gears turns clockwise, the other turns anticlockwise.
  2. A stiff length of wood · The stiff wood can resist bending and turn around a pivot. Loose string and soft fabric bend instead of acting as a stiff lever bar.
  3. The load · The load is what the lever moves. Cole is being lifted, so he is the load.
  4. A lever · The stiff stick turns on a pivot to move a load, so it is a lever.
  5. It moves up · As the stiff bar turns around the pivot, one end moves down and the other moves up.
  6. 2 · The bar labelled "With lever" has a value of 2 force units.
  7. Gears · The matching toothed wheels are gears. Their teeth pass turning from the handle to the beaters.
  8. The smaller gear turns more quickly · The smaller gear has fewer teeth, so fewer teeth need to pass the contact for it to complete a full turn. It turns faster than the bigger driving gear.
  9. Yes, the turning effect can increase · The bigger driven gear turns slower but can provide a greater turning effect at its axle. This does not mean a greater push between the contacting teeth.
  10. No, its weight stays the same · The lever's arrangement reduces the needed effort, not the box's weight. The effort end moves farther than the load end.
Worksheet · LightMySky