Science Worksheet · Grades 3–5
Pulleys Worksheet
A science worksheet about pulleys for grades 3 through 5. Students study a diagram of a fixed pulley, a movable pulley, and a block and tackle, read about how each one changes the force you use, and then answer multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions.
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Subject
Science
Grades
Grades 3–5
Skill Focus
Pulleys, physical science
Lesson Length
20 minutes
Learning Objectives
Students will read about pulleys and answer comprehension questions about how a fixed pulley changes the direction of a force, how a movable pulley trades force for distance, and why no pulley reduces the total work.
- Name the parts of a pulley and identify it as a simple machine.
- Identify what a fixed pulley changes about a force and what it does not.
- Recognize the trade a movable pulley makes between force and distance.
- Recognize everyday uses of pulleys, including block and tackle systems.
Lesson Overview
About this worksheet
Almost every child who meets pulleys comes away with the same wrong idea: that putting a rope over a wheel makes a heavy thing lighter. A fixed pulley does not. If the load weighs twenty pounds you still pull twenty pounds. What changes is the direction, and that is worth having, because pulling down lets you lean back and add your own weight to the job. It is how one person on the ground raises a flag to the top of a pole.
This worksheet leads with a labeled diagram of all three arrangements side by side, because the difference between them is a difference in where the rope goes, and that is a thing to be looked at rather than described. The effort printed under each setup comes from the same numbers the passage uses, so the picture and the text always agree.
The movable pulley is where the real bargain shows up. Fasten the wheel to the load and your effort falls to about half. To raise the load one foot you now pull about two feet of rope. That trade is the honest heart of every simple machine: force for distance, with the total work unchanged. Students who see it here have a head start on levers, ramps, and gears.
Section A asks students to circle the best answer to four multiple choice questions. Section B asks students to write TRUE or FALSE for six statements. Section C asks students to fill in six missing words. A complete answer key is included on page 3.
How to Use This Lesson
Distribute the worksheet or display it for the class.
Have students study the diagram of the three pulley setups, then read the passage.
Students complete Section A (multiple choice), Section B (true/false), and Section C (fill in the blank).
Review answers together using the included answer key.
Printable Resource
A classroom-ready PDF with everything in one printable resource.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages · Answer Key
Pulleys Worksheet
A science worksheet about pulleys for grades 3 through 5. Students study a diagram of a fixed pulley, a movable pulley, and a block and tackle, read about how each one changes the force you use, and then answer multiple choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions.
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