bicycle gears and going uphill

[minkycho]

My daughter's in the 3rd grade and we're trying to put together a science project that involves gears and going uphill.

Does anyone have a resource that could conceptually and graphically help her/us describe why it's easier to go uphill on a lower gear? All of the research we've come across seems a bit too mathematically and physics advanced.

I think we're going to do a variation on the jack and jill project that is listed under the project ideas.

I believe the hypothesis is that with the same force, the energy output to go uphill on a lower gear is less than on a higher gear??? Are we on the right track?

Help??? And thanks.

[rrv17]

Hello,

Yes, you seem to be on the right track. While this website does not have a graph, it does break down the concept of bike gears pretty well:

https://bicycleuniverse.com/use-bicycle-gears/

Feel free to ask more questions, we're here to help!

-Regina V.