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Mechanisms and Structures
Quick questions on Gears and pulleys: N(A)-Level Design and Technology
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are gears?Show answer
A gear is a toothed wheel. When two gears mesh, one turns the other. The gear you drive is the driver; the gear it turns is the driven gear. Meshed gears turn in opposite directions.
What is the gear ratio?Show answer
The gear ratio compares the teeth:
What is the idler gear?Show answer
An idler gear sits between the driver and driven gears and meshes with both. It is used to make the driven gear turn the same way as the driver, or to bridge a gap between gears that are far apart. Importantly, an idler gear does not change the overall gear ratio between the driver and the driven gear.
What is q1?Show answer
Write the formula for the gear ratio. [1 mark]
What is q2?Show answer
A 10-tooth driver meshes with a 40-tooth driven gear. Calculate the ratio and say whether the output is faster or slower. [3 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Explain what an idler gear does to the direction and to the ratio. [2 marks]
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