Lesson 14 of 30 · Simple Machines
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopHeavy or Light?
%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22105%22%20cy%3D%22100%22%20r%3D%226%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.9%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22253%22%20cy%3D%22184%22%20r%3D%224%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.7%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22547%22%20cy%3D%22100%22%20r%3D%225%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.85%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22693%22%20cy%3D%22199%22%20r%3D%227%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.9%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22376%22%20cy%3D%22347%22%20r%3D%22100%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.2%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%22443%22%20cy%3D%22342%22%20r%3D%2260%22%20fill%3D%22%23cffafe%22%20opacity%3D%220.25%22%20%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%0A%20%20%3Ctext%20x%3D%22400%22%20y%3D%22270%22%20font-size%3D%22180%22%20text-anchor%3D%22middle%22%20dominant-baseline%3D%22middle%22%20font-family%3D%22-apple-system%2C%20Segoe%20UI%2C%20Roboto%2C%20sans-serif%22%3E%F0%9F%AA%A8%3C%2Ftext%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Simple Machines.
🎯 Your mission
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
⚡ The twist
Constraints make you more creative, not less.
Mind = Blown
🛠️ The first computer bug was a literal moth stuck inside a machine in 1947.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you test: how many tries until it works?
What You'll Learn
Heavy things are harder to push than light things. Try pushing a book and a feather!
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Steps
Say the vocabulary words out loud. Can you repeat them?
Push a toy car gently, then push it hard. Which push made it go farther?
What happened? Tell a grown-up what you noticed.
Tell a grown-up your favorite part of the activity.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What happens if you push harder?
Where you see this in real life
Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find something that's broken at home and try to figure out *why* it broke.
For the dinner table
“What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Ready?
Heavy or Light?
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
Full screen — no distractions
Checkout complete lesson on Simple Machines for Pre-School
Get the full Simple Machines track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.