Hand Mixer
| Level: Beginner | Duration: 1-2 class periods |
| Grade Level: | Author: Adapted from The Big Picture: Introduction to Gears, Levers, and Mechanisms |
| Topics: Gears | |
| Materials: , Containers of water, paper towels | |
| References / Resources: | |
Objective
Students will design a hand mixer using gears.
Description
Students are challenged to design a hand mixer using gears.
Procedures
Assign or have students find a partner. Distribute the attached Hand Mixer handout to students, and instruct them to design the device using the requirements listed in the handout. When they have finished building their device, they should find another group that has finished and exchange models for evaluation. At this point, students will need access to a container of water. You may want to distribute paper towels so they can wipe up any spills. Students should finish by completing the evaluation worksheet.
Discussion
Some questions that might be appropriate for discussion:
- What did the most successful designs have in common? How were they different?
- Is it better to have more or less gears? Is it better to have big or small gears, or a mix?
Continuation
Encourage students to think about other variables (besides the gears) in the mixers that might make a difference in how well they work. Encourage them to make changes to their models that reflect these variables, and then test the mixers to see how their performance changes.
