Pulleys 2011
Fri, Aug 5, 2011
Materials: Rope, water-filled milk jugs, pulleys, swingset
Activity: Create several pulley systems. Pull the ropes to raise the milk jugs up to the top of the swingset. Try a fixed pulley system: Tie a rope to a milk jug and toss the rope over a swingset (the swingset beam represents a pulley). Try a moveable 2-pulley system: Tie a rope to the swingset beam. Wind it through a pulley. Tie a milk jug to the pulley. Toss the rest of rope back over the swingset. (I tried a double pulley system, or block and tackle, using some double pulleys, but the rope kept coming off the track...)
Research Question: How does the way pulleys are positioned affect how easy it is to lift the weight?
Resources:
Tags: Force and Motion 2011