This activity was taken from the Noggin BuilderZ advanced activity book

Wheel and Axle Basics

Objectives:

• A wheel and axle has 2 parts to it. The wheel, and the axle! The axle is a rod that goes through and locks to the wheel. It rotates along with the wheel. This lets the wheel turn .
• A wheel and axle helps to move objects in 2 ways

1. If we turn the wheel, the axle will also turn. Turning wheel with longer distance use less force, but the axle will go in much shorter distance with more force. We can use this to turn something heavy.
2. If we turn the axle, the wheel will spin. The faster the axle is turned, the faster the wheel spins. That is what cars turn.

•  When we move a heavy object, we need to overcome 2 forces:

         1.  Friction: Force resisting the motion of the object on the ground.

         2.  Gravitational force: Force that pulls the object to the ground.

• Wheels on a wagon only touch the ground at one spot at a time, keeping the rest of the wagon off the ground. This makes less friction

Container Truck

Steps:

Remember:

• colors of rods and other pieces may vary
• kit contains small pieces and may be a choking hazard, intended for ages 6+