Can a mother who weighs five times more than her child really be held in the air on a see saw by the child? A simple simulation demonstrates how this is possible through altering the distance from the fulcrum. Scholars can adjust the weight of the mother, weight of the child, and both distances from the fulcrum in order to see the results.

Concepts

torque, mechanical advantage, levers

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Lesson fits well with simple machines
• Visit a see saw and play around with these concepts in person, being careful not to point out anyone as being overweight or heavy

Classroom Considerations

• Must create a free CK-12 account to access the interactive

Pros

• Displays graphs of the mechanical advantage each has
• Offers analysis questions on the worksheet and challenge questions on the simulation

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.9-10.4 RST.11-12.4