Grade 5 · Science · Unit 4 of 6
Simple Machines
Levers, ramps, pulleys and more
What your child practises
The six simple machines, how machines trade force for distance, compound machines, and reading data from a ramp experiment.
BC Curriculum learning standard: Simple machines (lever, wedge, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, screw) and how they make work easier
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
These ramps all lift a box to the same height. Order them from LEAST force needed to MOST.
- 📐5 m ramp
- 📐4 m ramp
- 📐1 m ramp
- 📐3 m ramp
Show answer
5 m ramp → 4 m ramp → 3 m ramp → 1 m ramp
Hint: For the same height, a longer ramp is gentler, so it needs less force. The trade-off: you push the box a longer distance.
Question 2
A screw is really another simple machine wrapped around a post. Which one?
🔩- a wheel and axle
- a pulley
- an inclined plane
- a lever
Show answer
an inclined plane
Hint: Cut a paper triangle (a ramp) and roll it around a pencil. The edge makes a spiral, just like a screw's threads.
Question 3
How do simple machines make work easier?
⚙️- they change the size or direction of a force
- they make objects weigh less
- they remove all friction
- they create energy out of nothing
Show answer
they change the size or direction of a force
Hint: Machines can't make energy. They let you use a smaller force over a longer distance, or push in a more useful direction.
Question 4
A bicycle uses several simple machines working together. What is a machine like this called?
🚲- a fixed pulley
- an inclined plane
- a compound machine
- a simple machine
Show answer
a compound machine
Hint: A compound machine is made of two or more simple machines. A bike has wheels and axles, levers and more.
Question 5
An axe splitting wood is which simple machine?
🪓- wedge
- pulley
- lever
- screw
Show answer
wedge
Hint: A wedge is thick at one end and thin at the other. It pushes things apart when it is forced in.
Question 6
What pattern does this data show?
Force needed to pull a cart up ramps that are all 50 cm high Ramp length Force needed (N = newtons) 1 m 24 N 2 m 12 N 3 m 8 N 4 m 6 N - shorter ramps are always easier
- longer ramps need more force
- ramp length doesn't change the force
- longer ramps need less force
Show answer
longer ramps need less force
Hint: As you read down the table, the ramps get longer and the force gets smaller.