Practice identifying levers and ramps and explaining how they help people move, lift, and balance objects.
Read each problem carefully. Write your answer in complete sentences when you can.
Exploring how simple machines make work easier
Science - Grade 2-3
- 1
A ramp is placed from the ground to the back of a truck. How does the ramp help someone load a heavy box into the truck?
- 2
Circle the object that is a lever: spoon used to lift a lid, ball, pencil lying flat, or cup.
- 3
A seesaw is a kind of lever. What part of the seesaw is the fulcrum?
- 4
Write one example of a ramp that you have seen at school, at home, or in your community.
- 5
A child uses a long board as a ramp to roll a toy car up to a shelf. Would a longer ramp or a shorter ramp usually make the push feel easier?
- 6
A bottle opener helps lift the cap off a bottle. Is a bottle opener more like a lever or a ramp?
- 7
Fill in the blank: A ramp is also called an inclined plane because it is a flat surface that is ______________.
- 8
Look at a wheelbarrow. The handles help a person lift and move a load. Is a wheelbarrow using a lever, a ramp, both, or neither?
- 9
Mia needs to move a heavy crate from the floor to a porch. Name one simple machine she could use and explain how it would help.
- 10
Which ramp would be safer for moving a wagon up to a low step: a very steep ramp or a gentle ramp? Explain your answer.
- 11
A lever has three main parts: the load, the effort, and the fulcrum. What is the load?
- 12
Sam pushes down on one end of a ruler to lift a small eraser on the other end. What simple machine is Sam using?
- 13
A delivery worker uses a ramp to move boxes. The ramp does not make the boxes lighter. What does the ramp change to make the work easier?
- 14
Circle the two examples that use ramps: stairs, slide, door handle, loading ramp, spoon.
- 15
Explain how a lever can help a person lift something heavy.