After completing the first 4 stages of our inquiry on the Simple Machines, in the Making conclusions stage we had a Guest lecture by Mr. Rama Koteswar Rao (Science Facilitator). He started the lecture by quoting the great Greek scientist and mathematician Archimedes “Give me a place to stand, and a lever long enough, and I will move the world.” Our geckos were fascinated by this thought and were thoroughly engaged during the entire lecture. During the course of this lecture several misconceptions about simple machines were addressed, basic definitions and working of the six basic types of simple machines were discussed and the practical applications of the simple machines were highlighted. They were introduced to new terms like mechanical advantage and gear ratios. And they also understood that simple machines are designed for a specific purpose and in order to reduce effort and make work easy the right simple machine should be chosen.
For the hands-on demonstrations we visited the Gaudium Science park. There the students learnt about the working of a screw jack and how it makes the job of lifting heavy load easier. Our geckos understood that friction helps in engaging the gears and the speed of the gears varies depending upon the gear ratios. They viewed the compound pulleys at work and could understand that the effort reduces with the increase in number of ropes. With lots of practical examples and hands-on activities, this lecture was truly a thought provoking and fascinating one.
Highlights of the lecture:
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