The Magic Pulley
Khel Khel Mein Vigyan
and decided to find a way to help her. With the help of Swati Didi, an
भारतीय �ौ�ोिगक� सं�थान जोधपुर
Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
भारतीय �ौ�ोिगक� सं�थान जोधपुर
English
Dr Tonisha Guin
In the bustling village of Sonapur lived a clever girl named Aditi
and her younger brother, Aryan. One sunny afternoon, they saw
their grandmother struggling to pull a heavy bucket of water
from the deep well near their home.
“Grandma, why is it so hard to pull the bucket up?” Aryan asked,
worried.
The grandmother smiled, wiping her brow. “Son, it’s because the
bucket is heavy, and I have to use a lot of effort to lift it.”
That evening, Aditi sat under the mango tree, deep in thought.
“Aryan, how can we make it easier for Grandma?”
Aryan scratched his head. “Maybe we could tie a second rope
and pull together?”
Aditi thought for a moment and said, “But that wouldn’t really
reduce the effort. There must be another way.”
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
The Magic Pulley
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
“Like when a mango falls - it’s gravity
pulling it down, right?”
“Exactly!” Swati said. “The same gravity is
making the bucket feel so heavy. But
there’s a way to make it easier.”
things at Uncle’s workshop.”
The two rushed to their Uncle’s workshop, where tools, ropes,
and wooden planks were scattered everywhere.
Aditi: “Swati didi, can you help us make something to make
Grandma’s work easier?” Aditi continued, “Grandma was pulling
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
“But why do we have to use so much effort?” Aryan asked
curiously.
Swati smiled and started explaining, “This effort is due to force. A
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
pulls it down, which is why it feels hard to lift.”
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“Yes,” Swati nodded. “It’s called gravity. Gravity pulls everything
downwards. That’s why lifting feels hard.”
Aditi intervened and excitedly pointed to the mango tree nearby.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Force is a push or
pull that makes
things move or stop.
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Reflection Exercise
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“How?” Aryan asked in excitement!
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
Swati explained, “A pulley makes lifting heavy things easier. It is
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
the groove, instead of pulling straight up, you pull down, and it
feels lighter!”
“But, why does it feel lighter?” Aditi asked in a confused tone.
Swati smiled and said, “That’s a
nice question! Let’s imagine you
are pulling a heavy bucket straight
up. It’s hard, right?”
Aditi and Aryan nodded.
Swati continued, “That’s because
gravity is pulling the bucket down,
so you need to apply an upward
force that's stronger than gravity's
downward pull.”
“Now, let’s think about the pulley,”
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
Can you guess which of these objects can be
used to make a pulley?
A wooden log, a bicycle wheel, a metal plate, a
strong rope.
Puzzle
pulley, instead of pulling straight up, you pull the rope down.”
Aditi looked curious. “So, the pulley makes it easier by changing
the direction?”
“Exactly!” Swati said, smiling. “Instead of pulling the bucket up,
you pull the rope down. This doesn’t make the bucket lighter,
but pulling down lets you use your body weight better, which
can make the task feel easier.”
“Can we make one?” Aditi asked excitedly.
“Sure! Let’s gather some materials,” Swati said. They found an old
bicycle wheel, a sturdy rope, and a wooden frame.
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
wooden frame. Then, they passed the rope through the groove
in the wheel and tied one end to an empty bucket.
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
“Let’s test it!” Swati said.
But just as Aryan started pulling the rope, a goat wandered into
the workshop and tugged on the other end of the rope!
The bucket swung wildly, and the children burst into laughter.
“Mr. Goat wants to help too!” Aryan said, giggling.
Once the goat was gently shooed away, Aditi pulled the rope. To
her amazement, the bucket lifted smoothly.
“This is amazing!” Aditi said excitedly. “It feels so much lighter!”
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
“That’s the power of the pulley,” Swati explained. “You don't need
to use as much force to lift the bucket, as you are also applying
force in the direction of gravity and not against it.”
The next morning, they set up the pulley above the well.
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
It’s so easy now!”
The neighbors came to see the pulley in action. One of them
joked, “Now I can use this to lift my heavy bags of rice!” Everyone
laughed and clapped for Aditi, Aryan, and Swati.
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
Just then, Aryan’s eyes lit up. “What if we use something round,
like a wheel? When I roll my toy cart, it feels easy to move.”
Aditi nodded, and said, “Let’s ask Swati didi! She is always fixing
the bucket from the well, and she was finding it hard to do it.”
force is simply a push or pull. When I pull the bucket up, gravity
“Something pulls it down? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
“We can use a pulley,” said Swati.
“A pulley? What’s that?” Aryan asked.
a wheel with a groove around it. When you pass a rope through
Swati continued. “When you use a
First, they mounted the wheel on a metal rod and fixed it to the
Grandmother tried it and was amazed. “Wah! This is wonderful!
Later, as the siblings sat by the well, Aryan said, “We learned so
much today! Force is everywhere—when we push doors, pull
water, or even lift our school bags. And gravity is always pulling
things down.”
“And simple machines like the pulley help us make work easier,”
Aditi added. She continued, “If we could invent something to
help Grandma today, imagine what else we could make in the
future!”
“Exactly!” Swati said. “With creativity and teamwork, you can
solve any problem.”
Aryan’s eyes sparkled. “Yes! Maybe we can build something to
carry sacks of wheat or even help mother in the kitchen!”
Swati giggled. “That’s the spirit! There are so many simple
machines around us—like levers, wheels, and inclined planes.
Who knows what you’ll create next?”
Aditi and Aryan looked at each other, excited. “Let’s explore
more and see what we can invent next!”
With that, the two siblings ran off, dreaming of their next big
idea.