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Technologies K–10 · Years 1–2

Moving pictures: a split-pin lever card

Design and Production (NSW Science and Technology K–6, 2017); Design and Technologies: Knowledge and understanding, Technologies context: Engineering principles and systems (ACARA v9)

Practical, model not builtLow risk

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The idea

A lever turns about a pivot, so a point twice as far from the pivot moves twice as far, in the opposite direction, when the lever turns.

What you need

  • 2 sheets of A4 card per learner
  • 2 split pins (paper fasteners)
  • 2 card strips 12 cm × 2 cm for the levers
  • Scissors, glue stick, colour pencils
  • 1 ruler

How to do it

  1. On the card strip, mark a pivot hole 4 cm from one end. The short end is the handle; the long end is 8 cm from the hole.
  2. Draw and cut out a small picture (for example a kangaroo head) and glue it to the long end.
  3. Push a split pin through the hole and through the background card and open the legs at the back.
  4. Hold a ruler beside the handle. Push the handle down 2 cm and measure how far the picture rises.
  5. Make a second strip with the hole in the middle, repeat the test and compare.
  6. Design: choose where to put the pivot so the picture moves further than your hand, and explain the choice.

What you should see

With the handle 4 cm from the pivot and the picture 8 cm away, pushing the handle down 2 cm lifts the picture about 4.0 cm, twice as far, because 8 ÷ 4 = 2. With the pivot in the middle both ends move the same distance. The learner knows it worked when the end further from the pivot always moves further and the two ends always move in opposite directions.

What changes

What you change
the position of the pivot on the strip
What you measure
the distance the picture moves for a 2 cm push on the handle
What you keep the same
  • the same strip length (12 cm)
  • the same 2 cm push on the handle
  • the same split pin

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

  • Both ends of a lever move the same amount (the end further from the pivot moves further).
  • The pivot must always be in the middle (moving the pivot changes how far each end moves).
  • Pushing the handle down pushes the picture down (on this lever the ends move in opposite directions).

Safety card

Low riskLearners carry it out

Hazards

  • Scissors
  • Sharp split-pin points

Controls

  • Round-ended scissors; split-pin legs bent flat against the card

Note

No chemicals or heat. Record the activity on Primary School RiskAssess (riskassess.com.au).

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

  • Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. The syllabus taught in 2026; the 2024 syllabus replaces it from 2027. Code read from the official syllabus document (DOCX) on 2026-09-22.ST1-9PW-STST1-2DP-T
  • Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST1-DDT-01
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDE2K02AC9TDE2P01AC9TDE2P02

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
  2. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2024/outcomes
  3. primaryconnections.org.au/v84-sequences/machine-makers
  4. www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_simp_machines_lesson01

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