Mechanisms: levers, linkages and gears
Simple mechanisms turn one kind of movement or force into another — and they are hiding inside everyday objects from scissors to bicycles.
Part of your national curriculum
- Technical knowledge: Understand how mechanical systems such as levers, linkages and gears create movement and change forces
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand how mechanical systems such as levers, linkages and gears create movement and change forces
Key learning points
- • Levers
- • Linkages
- • Gears
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 17 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 17
Visual introductionPicture this
Mechanisms: levers, linkages and gears
Simple mechanisms turn one kind of movement or force into another — and they are hiding inside everyday objects from scissors to bicycles.
In a nutshell
Understand how mechanical systems such as levers, linkages and gears create movement and change forces
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 17
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Levers
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 17
Learn
Levers
A lever is a rigid bar that pivots around a fixed point called a fulcrum, allowing a small force applied over a large distance to create a larger force over a shorter distance (or vice versa). Scissors, seesaws and bottle openers are all levers, classified by where the fulcrum, effort and load sit relative to each other.
Reset break
Part 4 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 17
Learn
Linkages
A linkage is a set of rigid bars connected by pivots that changes the direction or type of movement, for example turning a small up-and-down motion into a larger side-to-side motion. Linkages are used in toys, windscreen wipers and folding mechanisms like umbrella frames.
Quick check
Part 6 of 17
Quick check
Part 7 of 17
Reset break
Part 8 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 17
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Gears
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 17
Learn
Gears
Gears are wheels with teeth that mesh together to transmit rotational movement, and changing the size of the gears changes speed and force: a small gear driving a larger one increases force but reduces speed, which is exactly how a bicycle's low gears make hills easier to climb.
Quick check
Part 11 of 17
Reset break
Part 12 of 17
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 13 of 17
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 14 of 17
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
A lever is a rigid bar that pivots around a fixed point called a fulcrum, allowing a small force applied over a large distance to ____ a larger force over a shorter distance (or vice versa).
Scissors, seesaws and bottle openers are all ____, classified by where the fulcrum, effort and load sit relative to each other.
____ are used in toys, windscreen wipers and folding mechanisms like umbrella frames.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 17
Game · Recall cards
What is a fulcrum?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 16 of 17
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Mechanisms: levers, linkages and gears
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is a fulcrum?
2. What does a linkage mainly do?
3. What happens when a small gear drives a larger gear?
4. Moving a fulcrum closer to the load means…
Lesson round-up
Part 17 of 17
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 17 · Watch & discover
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Understand how mechanical systems such as levers, linkages and gears create movement and change forces