Antenna Rotator Gearing

Students will make observations and inferences about different gear ratios and types of gears. Students will rotate through different stations where they will first make individual observations and record them. They will then share their findings and show the others in the group what properties they observed. This will be followed by a class discussion on their findings. More specific vocabulary will be introduced as needed to aid in the discussion. Students will have a diagram of a gear that they will annotate with this vocabulary for adding to their notes. This is a two-day lesson.
When students have a foundation level understanding they will be able to use gears to better control mechanical systems that they create in class. This understanding will open the door for them to create automata, robots and more in class. The satellite ground station will allow for data to be collected that can be used in physics and other classes.