FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS USE SIMPLE MACHINES TO CALCULATE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
Fourth grade students were learning about simple machines in science class and put some of their knowledge to use with an experiment with district science consultant Mr. Claire Zurbuch. Using a lever, wedge, and weight students were able to find and object’s mechanical advantage. To do so, you have to first divide the effort distance by the load distance. The effort distance is how far the load (in this case our weight) is from the pivot point (which was where the wooden lever was bolted to the PVC pipe.) There were five points on our wooden lever, all 10 cm apart. The load distance is how far the weight is from the pivot point. Once students got the necessary information, Mr. Z had them move pivot points, holding points, and weight to determine the mechanical advantage of the various spots. Students found that the higher the mechanical advantage number is, the easier it is to do the work. Which in essence meant that the closer the weight was to the pivot, the easier it was to lift. Great work everyone, it was a complex lab! Thanks, as always, to Mr. Z for providing great information and hands on experience for our students to better understand a complicated subject!
SUMMER SCHOOL APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED
Cardinal Schools is providing online summer school classes to students in need of credit recovery. Classes are available to students in any district. Summer school is offered using FuelEd, which is an online platform for course delivery. Students must have access to a computer and internet. Cost to enroll in core classes is $200.00 and health and physical education are $175.00. Sign ups can be completed on our website, www.cardinalschools.org or by filling out an enrollment form in the Board of Education Office by Friday, June 4, 2021. For additional information contact Jill DeRamo at jill.deramo@cardinalschools.org.
