In Science, Year 5 have have been exploring different types of mechanisms including gears.

Gears work when the teeth of one gear mesh with another.

When you mesh, two gears, the driver gear makes the follower gear turn in the opposite direction.

If you use a small gear to drive a large gear, the large one will turn slower.

If you use a large gear to drive a small gear, the small one will turn faster. Less effort is needed to make the wheel turn lots of time.

An idler gear can be placed in between a driver gear and a follower gear to make a driver gear and a follower gear turn in the same direction.