======Gear Ratios======


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**Materials: **{{$demo.materials_description}}\\
**Difficulty: **{{$demo.difficulty_description}}\\
**Safety: **{{$demo.safety_description}}\\
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**Categories:** {{$demo.categories}}
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**Alternative titles:** Gears as Simple Machines
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====Summary====                   
{{$demo.summary}}



====Procedure====  
  - Print and color a gear pattern.  
  - Tape the pattern to a Styrofoam tray and have an adult cut out the gears.  
  - Pin the gears to a piece of cardboard so their teeth fit together.  
  - Turn the big gear slowly and watch how the small gear moves.  
  - Mark each gear with a colored dot at the top, then count how many turns each gear makes as you spin the big gear.  
  - Optional: Add a small handle to the big gear to make it easier to turn.



====Links==== 

📄 Learn about gears - Home Science Tools: [[https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/learn-about-gears/]]\\


====Variations====
  * Use ridged water bottle caps as simple gears.  
  * Try gears from building kits like LEGO or K’Nex.  
  * Experiment with three or more gears to build a gear train with idler gears.



====Safety Precautions====
  * Have an adult cut the Styrofoam with a sharp knife.  
  * Handle thumbtacks or pins carefully to avoid injury.




====Questions to Consider====
  * Why does the small gear turn faster than the big gear? (Because the smaller gear has fewer teeth, it makes more rotations per turn of the big gear.)  
  * Why do the gears turn in opposite directions? (Because the teeth push against each other in reverse.)  
  * How do gears make work easier? (They allow you to trade force for speed, or change the direction of motion.)