Students explore the simple machine of a wedge. In this wedge instructional activity, students test wedges on different materials including wax, soap, clay and foam. They learn how a wedge was used to build the ancient pyramid and modern...

Students role-play as engineers designing wedge tools. They devise methods for shaping quarry rocks into pyramid blocks. Following a teacher demonstration, they use materials such as soap, clay, and foam for blocks and wood, plastic,...

Fourth graders participate in activities to examine how simple machines help build things. They identify the six types of simple machines. They discover how simple machines where use historically to build pyramids and how they are still...

Fourth graders examine the simple machine known as a plane. They build their own pyramid and identify the role of screws. They participate in a hands-on activity in which they determine the angle in which to make it easier to pull.

Students create a pyramid design based on the 6 simple machines that they are introduced to. In this simple machines lesson plan, students are introduced to the wedge, wheel and axle, inclined plane, screw, and pulley.

In this Geometry worksheet, 10th graders solve problems involving the properties of a regular pyramid.  The two page worksheet contains a combination of seven multiple choice and free response questions.  Answers are...

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...

Student design and build Lego vehicles that drag given amount of weight up an incline. They show how this demonstrates Egyptian methods of pyramid construction.

Students research simple machines. In this simple machines lesson plan, students explore the many types of simple machines such as the lever, pulley, and screw. Students discover simple machines in the classroom.

Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...

Eighth graders perform experiments with simple machines and write up the results. They research the construction of the step pyramid and the three pyramids at Giza. Students research how the ancient Egyptians used simple machines in...

Learners examine the two theories on how the pyramids at Giza were built. They watch a video on pyramids, take notes, and write a five-paragraph essay on how they think the pyramids were constructed.

Students work together to examine inclined planes. They create a plan to raise rocks to build pyramids. They discover the changes that occur when the angle is increased or decreased.

Students explore building a pyramid, learning about the simple machine called an inclined plane. They also learn about another simple machine, the screw, and how it is used as a lifting or fastening device. During a hands-on activity,...

Students learn how simple machines, including wedges, were used in building both ancient pyramids and present-day skyscrapers. In a hands-on activity, students test a variety of wedges on different materials (wax, soap, clay, foam)....

Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane,...

Students use inclined planes as they recreate the difficult task of raising a monolith of rock to build a pyramid. They compare the push and pull of different-sized blocks up an inclined plane, determine the angle of inclination, and...

Students investigate the ways in which ancient technologies - six types of simple machines and combinations - are used to construct modern buildings. As they work together to solve a design problem (designing and building a modern...

Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier. Students are introduced to the six types of simple machines - the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, and pulley - in the context of the...

Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...

Students continue their pyramid building journey, acting as engineers to determine the appropriate wedge tool to best extract rock from a quarry and cut into pyramid blocks. Using sample materials (wax, soap, clay, foam) representing...