🦸 I3 Gear Superpowers

Every gear has a superpower: speed or strength. The League of Gears needs a new hero who knows how to choose the right one.

Inventors, Intermediate. Engineer Stamp: Gear Hero.

Lessons

  1. Gear speed lab: fast or strong?: Big gear turns small gear, or small turns big. Which one gives SPEED? Which gives STRENGTH?
  2. Count the turns: odometer cart: How does a car know how far it has driven?
  3. Ratio detectives: Can you predict how fast a gear turns without even trying it?
  4. The worm-gear lock: This gear has a superpower no other gear has: it never lets go.
  5. Design Day: The two-speed winch: Gizmo City’s crane is broken, and a kitten’s basket is waiting to be lifted to the tree house.
  6. Showcase: Lift-Off Challenge: Timed lifts in both settings. Record the time and how hard it felt (1–5).

Design challenge

Build a winch that lifts 200 g off the floor. Make a FAST version and a STRONG version with a gear change.

Engineering ideas

Standards: 3-5-ETS1-2, UK D&T KS2 gears