National Science Education Standards

An exploration of simple machines meets the content standards of the National Science Education Standards in many areas: (a) Unifying Concepts and Processes, (b) Science as Inquiry, (c) Physical Science, (d) Life Science, (e) Science and Technology, and (f) History and Nature of Science.

For example, students may be required to build a compound machine, describe how each of Newton’s laws is manifested, and quantify the amount of work the machine can do. Students may be required to accomplish a given amount of work only—no more, no less—forcing them to think carefully about the technology they will use. What has been used in the past by other technologists? Can students use something similar or something better, not available to that historic technician?

An analysis of the work being accomplished requires students to recognize the system as a unit, its order, and organization as well as the individual parts of the whole. Their analysis requires initial measurements of the incoming forces and the distances over which the forces are applied as compared to the measured force out and distance over which the outcome force is applied. When students discover the forces are not exactly equal, what inferences can they offer?

Students may be required to find and describe simple machines in living things. What are they used for? How efficient are they? Does efficiency vary with species? What can account for that?

Excerpts from the Content standards appropriate to your work with middle school students appear below:

Physical Science: Content Standard B:

As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Properties and changes of properties in matter
• Motions and forces
• Transfer of energy

Motions and Forces

• The motion of an object can be described by its position, direction of motion, and speed. That motion can be measured and represented on a graph. (See Content Standard D (grades 5-8))
• An object that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant speed and in a straight line.
• If more than one force acts on an object along a straight line, then the forces will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude. Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion.

Transfer of Energy

• Energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat, light, electricity, mechanical motion, sound, nuclei, and the nature of a chemical. Energy is transferred in many ways.
• In most chemical and nuclear reactions, energy is transferred into or out of a system. Heat, light, mechanical motion, or electricity might all be involved in such transfers. (See Unifying Concepts and Processes)

Science and Technology: Content Standard E

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop:

• Abilities of technological design
• Understandings about science and technology

Understandings about Science and Technology

• Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
• Perfectly designed solutions do not exist. All technological solutions have trade-offs, such as safety, cost, efficiency, and appearance. Engineers often build in back-up systems to provide safety. Risk is part of living in a highly technological world. Reducing risk often results in new technology.
• Technological designs have constraints. Some constraints are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example, environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics.

Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop understanding of:

• Science and technology in society

Science and Technology in Society

• Technology influences society through its products and processes. Technology influences the quality of life and the ways people act and interact. Technological changes are often accompanied by social, political, and economic changes that can be beneficial or detrimental to individuals and to society. Social needs, attitudes, and values influence the direction of technological development.
• Science and technology have advanced through contributions of many different people, in different cultures, at different times in history. Science and technology have contributed enormously to economic growth and productivity among societies and groups within societies.

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Copyright June 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.