Gear Up/ Gear Down

Pairs of students are challenged to build a slow car using a motorized LEGO® kit. Students begin with a bicycle-building activity which introduces the concepts of gearing down and gear ratios.  Student then build models of cars with pulley systems, which will drive additional systems to see how the effect of the gear ratios can be multiplied. They utilize this knowledge to design a car capable of low speeds. The cars are timed on a course to see how slow they can go, and students are encouraged to modify and alter their design throughout the lesson.