Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mrs. Brooks and I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

We are gonna go through the topic of levers, specifically lever classification.

And that fits into our unit of Movement analysis in the specification.

We're gonna have lots of fun.

This can be seen sometimes is a difficult topic, but we're really gonna unpick that and make sure that's not the case.

We're gonna have some fun doing some movement, helping us to learn about levers.

And I'm sure you're all going to be fine.

Our outcome are by the end of today's lesson, we will feel confident that we can draw and label different components of lever.

So in the first instance we need to understand what those components are, and then we're gonna look at some examples of that magic number of three.

So the three types of lever in action.

And like I said, we might have heard from some students where they might fear this part of the course, but we are really gonna break it down into those really simple parts that will definitely support us when we're analysing sporting movements and also help us within those exam questions.

Now, our keywords for the day or for the lesson, sorry, are very much linked to those four key components that we're going to understand.

The first is obviously the lever.

Now that often is represented as a line, and as you can see there, that's the kind of the bar, the bone in our body that turns and then creates movement.

On that bone or on that lever, there are then three additional sections or components, one of which is a fulcrum.

Now the fulcrum is fixed and often is the joint, and the lever then turns around that point.

In order to move, it needs force.

And that force very much comes from our muscles and we refer that to, in a lever as the effort.

And then they're trying to move, they're often trying to move something, even if that's our body weight.

So that is the load and that's the resistance which that lever is designed to move.

Now that can be referred to as either resistance or load.

So for the first part of the lesson we're gonna revisit those keywords and really understand those different components, those four components.

That will then allow us to have a much better understanding about the three types of lever.

And from then, we'll finish off really looking at some sporting movements and some examples of those three levers and how they're used.

Now we might look at that in terms of the environment, but specifically in the human body.

So, hope you're all ready and let's get started on this topic.

Okay, now Jacob is asking us to look at this image, and then saying to us, "How can that individual there move or lift the rock?" What's your thoughts? Now this is a really good start for us to understand those components of lever because we can see that there's a fixed point.

That point is just underneath the box, you can see.

Now that box, rock, whatever that might be, looks quite heavy.

So that's creating some resistance.

And I'm sure you are all saying that in order for that individual to move that rock, they're gonna have to use their muscles, particularly in their arms but also in their legs, to apply a force down on that bar.

And by doing that, as they do that, I imagine that the stone will lift upwards or they'll create a little bit of force to try and move that rock.

Is that what you were thinking too? So we know about our four components 'cause we learned about them as our keywords.

But in that image, we then also saw those four components being used.

So we saw the bar which is a lever, and in our human body that would be a bone.

We mentioned that fulcrum, that fixed point that was just underneath the rock.

Then we saw the effort, and I mentioned like the arm and the leg muscle specifically to push down on the end of that bar, right? And we so we refer to that as the effort.

And it was pretty clear from that image that there was a load or resistance and that was the box which needed to be moved.

Now when it comes to GCSE PE and we learn about levers, those four components are really key.

And for each of those four components there are shapes, right? So very, very often, you get asked to draw a lever and I never ever want you to think that you have to draw a body part.

In fact that's quite incorrect.

At a point of drawing a lever, you just need to draw four things.

And those four things match up specifically to those four components that we can see on the slide there.

So, our shapes: For the bar or the lever or the bone, quite simply we use a straight line.

Now a fulcrum or the pivot point or the joint, as is probably the best way of remembering it in terms of the human body, that is represented by a triangle.

The load or the resistance, we use the square shape.

And for the effort, that could be an arrow.

Now that arrow can either be an upward one 'cause that would represent a force moving upwards.

But if you think about the one we just looked at with the rock, that force was pushing downwards.

So that arrow can either be upwards or downwards.

The key thing at this stage is just remembering that the effort is represented by that arrow shape.

We're gonna explore the upward and downward bit as we start to look at the different types of lever.

But what I would like you to do is just that knowledge that on that slide I've used a different colour for the F, the L and the E.

Now just make a note of that 'cause that's gonna be really important to us as we move through the next part of the, as we move through the lesson, sorry.

Probably a good point to have a quick check though, now we've been introduced to our shapes.

And which of these following shapes represents the fulcrum of a lever? I'm gonna give you five seconds to decide.

Hopefully you have remembered that it was the triangle that is the shape that we use to represent the fulcrum.

Just a quick check that the square, option A is for the load and we have an upward arrow being shown for option C, and that is our effort.

Let's just remind ourselves about what a lever is.

Do we remember that? I give you five seconds, if you can just remember what word is missing from this definition.

A lever is a rigid bar that turns about an axis to create what? That's right, to create movement, which is why we are using it as part of our movement analysis section of the specification.

So we now know on our line or on our bar, we have an effort, and load, and a fulcrum.

Now they need to be positioned correctly on a lever.

All right, and when you draw a diagram, essentially you are writing, sorry, you are drawing the three shapes in the right place.

So let's just review our shapes again.

So here's our line and we can see the fulcrum.

It is there, we know it's the fulcrum 'cause it's a triangle.

We can see our load is also there.

We know it's the load now because it's a square.

And we can also see the effort.

We know it's the effort 'cause that's the shape represented by an arrow.

What I'd really like you to just be aware of at this point is the fulcrum is always underneath the line, whereas our load sits on top of the line, as does the effort.

But we've already explored briefly that that effort arrow can either be pointed upwards or pointing downwards.

Key thing at this point is just to look at where they are placed in terms of above or below the line.

Okay, so another quick check.

Really wanna make sure we feel confident with these shapes.

Can we identify the component of a lever that we would use a square for? Five seconds to decide.

That's right, you should have gone for option C, which was the load.

Effort, option D is the arrow.

Fulcrum, option B is the triangle.

Our lever is that straight line and often our starting point.

That moves us quite nicely onto our first task.

Now it's quite a quick task but I'm really trying to develop that confidence around those four components and it matches quite well with some of those checkpoints we've just done.

Can you complete this table? We have a component, the icon or the shape that's used and a brief description of each of those four.

Pause the video and come back to me when you're ready.

Okay, how did we get on? Hopefully you've come up with the following: In the fulcrum, did you acknowledge that that missing icon or shape was the triangle? The straight line, we know the component is the lever.

And our description of that is, as I explained there, that rigid bar or the bone.

In the load, did we put in that we got our triangle, oh sorry, our square and reminding that that square represents that resistance that the lever is trying to move? And finally for the effort, did you have that upward or downward error, arrow, sorry.

And the description there in terms of that force that is allowing the lever to move.

Okay, so we know our components.

Let's move on to the next part of our lesson when we look at these components into even more detail and we understand how they fit into those three different types of lever.

So we've had the magic number of four with regards to components, and we're now moving on to that magic number of three 'cause there are three types of lever.

So we often call these "classifications." So I mentioned types, but often a lot of texts and resources will refer to them as classifications or even lever systems. Either way, for you guys, you just need to remember that it's that magic number of three.

Now Izzy quite rightly is saying, "Well how do I recognise each lever system?" Well, I can share with Izzy and with you guys that there is a first class lever, there is a second class lever and there is a third class lever.

Alright, so there's our magic number of three.

Now what differentiates them is the positioning of those shapes that we learned about in the first part of the lesson.

Specifically the one that goes in the middle.

Alright, so this is really crucial for us to understand that the one that goes in the middle of those will determine whether it's first, second or third class.

So I'm gonna introduce to you, I'm not gonna sing to you although it might feel like I'm singing, but I am going to introduce you to a rhyme.

And that rhyme is really simple but will help us with this topic specifically.

It might be that you say it back to me or you pause the recording and say it to each other or say it back to your teacher.

But what our rhyme is, is F L, E equals one, two, three.

Okay, say it back to me.

That's right.

F-L-E equals one, two, three.

Okay, why am I sharing that rhyme with you? Well, in a first class lever, the fulcrum, the F, remember we had that F in a different colour earlier, sits in the middle on a first class lever.

For a second class lever, the load, that's matched with number two.

So the load goes in the middle.

And finally, I think you know where I'm going with this, we would recognise a third class lever 'cause the effort would be in the middle.

Alright, So get rehearsed at that rhyme.

You'll probably hear it in my voice.

I say it frequently because I know it helps massively with this topic.

So F-L-E equals one, two, three.

Quick checkpoint.

Now we've just done our rhyme.

The load, is that positioned in the middle of a first class lever system.

I'll give you a couple of a couple of seconds.

Do you think that's true or false? Well done.

That is, in fact, false.

'Cause if you think of our F-L-E equals one, two, three, the L was matched with the second.

So actually the load is positioned in the middle of a second class lever.

For our first class lever we have the fulcrum.

Okay, so remember this image.

We looked at it right back at the start of the lesson just to understand our four components.

We now know our components are drawn in the way that you can see on the slide there.

So let's now link this diagram with our image.

So the fulcrum, the pivot point, is that bit just underneath the box where that hopefully is gonna create that pivot point or that rotation to allow it to move.

The effort is pointing downwards, still on top of the line but pointed downwards 'cause we know that individual is gonna really push down on that bar to lift that rock.

And the rock, square, box, whatever you think that might be, is our load.

So what we've got now, hopefully you're all shouting at the screen, that is, in fact, a example of a first class lever because, according to our rhyme, F-L-E equals one, two, three, the fulcrum is positioned in the middle of the other two components.

Now I just need to share a bit of a tip with you in terms of that upward and downward arrow, 'cause I know sometimes that can feel quite confusing.

This is how I remember it.

So if you imagine, I don't know if you've ever watched a medal ceremony, the person that's in first position is always in the middle on the top of the podium, okay? You then have the one who's in second just a little bit lower and the one that's third, even lower, okay? But they still get their medals and they're very happy that they've come first, second, and third.

So if you think that person in the first position, they can, in terms of losing a medal, or anywhere they could go, they can only go downwards.

They could either go to second or third place.

So in a first class lever system, the effort points downwards just like shown this diagram.

But our second and our third, they could finish even slightly higher.

So their arrow points upwards.

Really quick win or really top tip to help you remember which way the arrow is positioned.

But remember, in all cases it sits on top of the line.

So just maybe use your metal podium as a really good way of remembering that.

It might be now that you draw it, draw it really briefly and show first could go downwards.

But the second and the third, they would point upwards.

Now, we were talking about our first class lever system and moving of this rock.

The seesaw, when did you last go on a seesaw? Really great bit of equipment that allows you to have lots of fun.

Now that's also another example of a first class lever system.

So let's explore this.

If you were now to go and sit on the seesaw, what would that represent as regards to our lever components? That's right, if you sat on it, you would then become the load or the resistance 'cause that would be what would be needing to be moved for you to enjoy the seesaw experience.

Where's the fulcrum if that's the case? Exactly.

That now sits here in the middle of our diagram and that's the pivot point as we probably appreciate when we do the seesaw, it's that bit in the middle.

Okay, how would you be moved? If you are now sat on that end, how would you be moved? And I'm hoping you're all shouting at the screen and saying, well you'd need someone sitting on that end of the seesaw and they would have to push downwards, so there's our downward arrow, to allow your partner to then come back up.

All right, so to move that seesaw, the partner would sit down and then we'd have the same kind of experience as the seesaw works.

So a little bit like our lifting the rock or the box, we have a really good example there of a first class lever system in action.

And we know it's first class because the fulcrum is in the middle.

Okay, so if we've got our rock and our seesaw as an example of a first class lever, what images could we perhaps think about that exists in the environment that might help us understand the second and the third class? Now a good one I think which will help you with the second class lever is a wheelbarrow.

I don't know how often you've used one of these.

But you can see from the image there that if you carry lots of rubble or mud or lots of heavy things from an area that's being cleared, an individual will be using those handles to kind of move that and do it quickly.

So the pivot point is the wheel.

So we would put our triangle there 'cause we know that's where our fulcrum would go 'cause that is that pivot point.

Inside that barrow is probably where all that rubbish, rubble, mud would be and that's gonna create the resistance or create a load.

And then lots of people when they use this device, they use the handles often with both hands and then they're able to use their arm muscles and their muscles in their upper body to lift up the barrow and then be able to wheel it and take it to where it needs to go.

And we can see on that image that we've got our arrow pointing upwards.

Just like we said on our podium, if they're in second place they could move up to first and get that gold medal.

So a wheelbarrow in the same way a seesaw, that really might help us to remember that second class lever system 'cause the load is in the middle.

And finally, third class, a little bit more tricky than the first and second.

But I'm gonna show you this baseball player.

Are you all thinking, yeah the load is on the end there? The end of the bat because that is where they're going to try and hit the ball as far as they can.

It's quite a long lever isn't it? Because you've got the bat that's if you've ever seen a baseball bat, they are quite long.

Now you can see this athlete is holding the end of the bat and that's where there's gonna be that point of rotation.

And then the effort is really coming from those arm muscles and those connected to the hands that are holding the bat to try and swing it as much as possible to be able to hit the ball.

So we can see there we've got an upward arrow 'cause it's a third class.

Also the effort is sitting in the middle.

So we've got three different examples of the three different types of lever.

And like I said, this might help you understand this in the same way our lifting of the rock did.

Okay, so let's just take ourself back to the seesaw.

Which shape was in the middle when it was drawn as a lever? Five seconds.

Can you work out which one it is? Absolutely, the middle of the seesaw was that pivot point, that fulcrum.

And we can remember from that first part of our lesson that that was represented as a triangle.

It couldn't be the load 'cause that would be whoever was trying to be moved in the seesaw and that effort was then the opposite partner or the other individual that was applying that force downwards so that seesaw fun motion could happen.

Now that takes us actually onto our second task.

We've seen a diagram of a first class lever.

We've been introduced to our rhyme, F-L-E equals one, two, three.

So for the first part of the task I'd like you to kind of continue with that learning.

And using that rhyme, could you draw and label a second and third class lever system? Remember some of those key points I've shared with you in terms of above or below the line and the upward or downward arrow.

But your key learning for this point is having the right shape in the middle.

Remember there's only four components, we're not drawing body parts, we're not drawing a wheelbarrow or a baseball player.

We're just drawing those four components in the right order and maybe our podium, our medal podium might help us complete that task.

Once we've done that we're gonna move on to a second question and we're gonna think back to our wheelbarrow and see if we can just give a really brief explanation as to why that's an example of a second class lever system.

Pause the recording and come back to me when you're ready.

Really well done.

There was lots to do there and lots to think about but in doing so, really helping us understand those three different types of lever.

So how did you do? For your second class lever, did you draw the load in the middle? So on the screen here we can see that load has been placed in the middle and on top of the line 'cause we knew it had to be on top, the fulcrum is at one end and that goes below the line, and our effort is pointing upwards 'cause our second place can go to first so it has to point upwards.

And that's on the other side.

So our load sits in the middle.

Well done for drawing that and labelling it correctly.

For the third class, four components again, only this time did you draw the effort in the middle? F-L-E equals one, two, three.

So the fulcrum is at one side, the effort is in the middle, and then as a result, the load goes onto the other side.

Our third place, our third place athlete could move into second position or even first maybe, but either way, he would be moving up the podium.

So again we have that upward arrow.

Now for the second part of the task, we were gonna just hone in specifically on the second class lever.

And we're just asked to give a brief explanation on why the wheelbarrow is an example of a second class lever system.

And hopefully you wrote something like this.

It is designed to be able to move those heavy loads easily wheel acts as that fulcrum and that pivot.

The load is that rubble, mud, things that can go inside it.

And you can get different sizes for that reason, to cope with the different amount of loads.

And that effort is that person who's lifting that and moving the wheelbarrow to wherever that load needs to be taken.

So that wheelbarrow is really efficient as it operates as a second class lever system.

Finally, and well done for now knowing your four components but then being able to understand how they are positioned to under those three types of lever, we are gonna finish off our learning by starting to think about sporting actions and some examples of those three levers in action in the human body.

And that's a really nice introduction to our next learning where we hone more into the different types of sport in movements.

Okay, so a joint movement to demonstrate a first class lever system is what I would call an overhead extension of the triceps.

Now I have a little weight here, I'm not suggesting you do.

It could be your pencil case, it could be a can of beans, it could be just something you can grab quickly and hold in your hand, it does not have to be heavy.

And we're going to try and practise this movement with both our arms. So if I stand to the side there, if I just do that, could you do the same? Could you mirror what I'm doing? And just with your both hands, just lift them from behind your head to above your head.

Now if I take the weight away and do it without the weight, we still get to see this same movement here.

Now how about we point to the joint, right? And I'm hoping you are all right now pointing to your elbow joint, just here.

The load, as you can see, is represented by the square.

This would be the weight that I'm trying to move at this point.

And the effort is actually coming from our triceps, 'cause our triceps extend the elbow and we can see there we've got our downward arrow.

So this is known as tricep overhead, sorry, overhead extension of the triceps.

Okay, now whilst we're moving, let's keep you moving and let's think about our second class lever.

You may be familiar with that term, plantar flexion of the ankle.

P for plantar, P for point.

So if you are sat now, you can probably see I'm stood up.

If you are sat, just raise up onto your toes.

That's all I'm doing.

Just like the diagram there, I'm going on.

That's quite a nice diagram isn't it? 'cause we can see the bones and we can see the muscle that allows us to plantar flex.

But I'm just going onto my toes.

Maybe like we did before, you can point to those components, the fulcrum, the load and the effort.

The fulcrum point, actually at this point is onto the toes, isn't it? 'Cause like that's the bit that we're trying to create the movement.

For the load where you're thinking, oh I'm not carrying a weight but actually, my ankle is trying to move my body weight.

So actually the load at this point is your weight.

And that effort is going upwards but coming from that big, bulky muscle in the back of our lower leg, the gastrocnemius and that is that effort, you probably felt it if you stayed on your toes, you could probably feel it was contracting and that's 'cause it's moving you into that position.

And we can see there how it's the second class because we've got our load sitting in the middle between the fulcrum and the effort, just like our wheelbarrow.

Finally, third class, a really good example is flexion of the elbow.

So we've had extension, I'm gonna grab my weight again, so you could do the same.

And all I'm gonna do is I'm gonna start it low and I'm just gonna bend my elbow and bring the weight up.

So a lot of you might know that as a bicep curl.

So I'm just flexing or causing the angle at my elbow joint to get smaller.

Can you demonstrate that as well? Again, we can see our bones and muscles in that diagram, which is really, really useful for us to see that.

And that arrow is just showing that it's that kind of movement just bringing the movement up so the weight comes up towards our shoulders.

Now if you had to point to the areas where this, where our components happen.

I'm hoping that you're all pointing towards the elbow joint, so we can see there that that would be our fulcrum.

The load in this instance would be whatever you are trying to move.

Alright, so that's the resistance that my body's trying to move.

And the effort, little bit tricky in this instance because look where the effort starts.

Our bicep muscle, which is that muscle that we've learned about at the front of our upper arm, is connected via a tendon just at the radius.

'cause that's the bone that that muscle moves.

Now tendons are often where the effort starts 'cause that's where it's connected, a muscle contracts, it pulls on the bone.

So in this instance, we acknowledge that the effort is starting just there, at that insertion point of the biceps.

And that's shown quite clearly on our diagram, isn't it? And from that we can see this as an example of a third class because the effort is positioned in the middle.

Right, remember F-L-E equals one, two, three.

Look at our GCSE student there doing a really simple dance or selection of movements.

But this is using this 'cause he knows it helps him understand our three types of lever but even better, the three movements that are common to those three types of lever.

So could you practise that like our student's doing? And as you are doing it, you say one, two, three, like I'm doing.

F-L-E equals one, up until your toes for two, flex your elbow for three/ Pause the recording, do it a few times.

Get used to doing it just like our student's there, he just keeps repeating it.

F-L-E equals one, up onto your toes, two, bend the elbow for three.

Why am I getting you to do that? What is that reminding us of? And I'm hoping you're all realising that it links very much to those three movements we've just explored.

So the tricep extension for the one, the plantar flexion going onto the toes for two, and then the flexion of the elbow for three.

Well done for moving.

Let's use that rhyme now to remind ourselves of which of these movements is an example of a first class lever? Quick checkpoint.

I'll give you five seconds to decide.

Well done if you ticked tricep extension.

That was the one that we saw our GSSE student do first.

F-L-E equals one, two, three.

Okay, we saw these images previously.

Which of them can you remember is the joint movement of a third class lever system? Well done if you went with B.

We did look at those with our components in some detail, didn't we? 'Cause we reminded ourselves of that muscle insertion.

We can see it quite clearly there, can't we on that bicep and how that's connected to our radius in order to move it.

So we've got that third class lever system.

A, option A is that plantar flexion, and option C is that tricep extension.

So finally, lots of learning there.

We're gonna go onto our task.

It's very similar to the kind of questions you may see in exams or some of your assessments.

But we've got here a athlete lifting a weight, little bit like we saw myself doing as we were looking at the three types of lever.

Position A, he is here.

And then position B, he finishes at the top.

We're asking you to identify that lever system that's being used.

And once you are confident with that, you are gonna accurately draw and label it.

Don't forget your labels.

Okay, press pause, good luck and come back to me when you're ready.

So hopefully your F-L-E equals one, two, three was a real help here, and you identified that that was the same movement as we saw our GCSE student doing at the start for a first class lever system.

And that would've meant that you would've drawn your line first of all.

Your fulcrum would've been underneath the line and labelled.

Your load would've been representing the weight that the athlete was trying to move, also labelled.

And our effort was on the top of the line but pointing downwards because this was a first class lever system.

Well done if you've drawn this correctly.

Okay, lots to unpick there, but hopefully we did it in a way that will give you lots of memorable things to remember to help you with this levers topic.

So let's summarise clearly on the key points that we learned about.

We know our bodies are made up of levers and those levers allow us to move.

We had that magic number of four, knowing that in each lever there is a bar, a fulcrum point, an effort, and a load.

And then we moved on from that and we knew that those four components were positioned in a way that would either be a first, a second, or a third class lever.

The fulcrum was placed in the middle on a first, the load in the position in the middle of a second and last but by no means least, the effort is placed in the middle of a third class lever.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope that's been really useful for levers and I look forward to seeing you on the next lesson.