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Everyday Machines / Week 11 / Wednesday
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Week 11 · How a Car Moves

Wednesday

Look closely: steering and brakes
// Fuel or a battery, wheels, brakes and belts
⏱ about 15 min

Wednesday: Look Closely at Steering and Brakes

Rocket peeks through the window of a parked car.

"The steering wheel is round, like a wheel!" he says.

Raven asks, "What do you notice about the front tires?"

Nova glows on a tire. "Would you like a hint? Look at the tread."

Steering

The driver turns the steering wheel.

That turning goes down to the front wheels.

The front wheels turn left or right.

The car follows them into the turn.

Many cars have a pump that helps the driver turn.

Brakes

The driver presses the brake pedal with a foot.

The pedal pushes fluid to the brakes.

A brake pad presses against a disk at the wheel.

The rubbing slows the wheel. That rubbing is friction.

Bikes have brake pads too. The Bike Shop course looks at bike brakes.

What you need

  • A parked car that is turned off
  • A grown-up beside you
  • Paper and a pencil
Safety first
The car stays parked and off, with the keys put away.
Stay with your grown-up the whole time.
Never go under the car or under the hood.
Never look at a car near a road.
A grown-up decides if you may sit inside.
  1. Look at a front tire. Find the grooves in the rubber.
  2. Look through a window. Find the steering wheel.
  3. Look down. Find the pedals by the driver seat.
  4. Look at a wheel. Can you see a shiny disk behind it?
  5. Draw what you saw.
LOOK CLOSELY CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which wheels turn when the driver steers?
What presses against the disk to slow the wheel?
What is the rubbing that slows a wheel called?
I looked atWhat I saw
A front tire
The steering wheel
The pedals
SentenceTrue or false?
The steering wheel turns the front wheels.?
The brake pedal is pressed with a hand.?
Brakes use friction to slow the car.?
It is okay to look at a car near a road.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESteering turns the front wheels, and brakes use friction to stop.
STOPPING A CAR
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last
For a grown-up
Park, turn the car off and pocket the keys first.
Stand between the child and any road.
Point out the brake disk behind a wheel if you see it.
Draw a front wheel. Show the brake disk behind it.

You looked closely at steering and brakes. Great eyes!

Tomorrow, we test what a seat belt does.

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