Gear Trains and Mechanical Advantage Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts of simple gear trains, compound gear trains, gear ratios, coaxial gears, and VEX robotics configuration from the lesson notes.

Simple Gear Train

A mechanical system where gears are meshed in a row, with each gear mounted on its own separate axis of rotation to transfer energy from one axis to another.

Driver Gear

The input gear in a gear train that directly receives rotational force from an external source, such as a motor or finger, to initiate motion.

Driven Gear

The output gear in a gear train that receives rotational motion and force transferred from the driver gear.

Gear Ratio

A mathematical comparison between the driven and driver gears, calculated by dividing the number of teeth on the driven gear by the number of teeth on the driver gear.

Idler Gear

An intermediate gear inserted between a driver gear and a driven gear in a simple gear train to alter the direction of output rotation without changing the overall gear ratio.

Compound Gear Train

A gear system containing multiple pairs of gears where two or more gears share the same axle, allowing for greater speed or torque changes than a simple gear train.

Coaxial Gears

Gears that are mounted on and share the same axis or axle of rotation, forcing them to rotate at the exact same rotational speed.

Torque and Speed Trade-off

The physical trade-off in gear systems where an increase in rotational torque results in a proportional decrease in output speed, and vice versa.

VEX V5 Smart Motor Connection

According to the tractor build activity instructions, the VEX V5 Smart Motor must be connected to Port $5$ of the VEX V5 Brain.

VEX V5 Limit Switch Connection

According to the tractor build activity instructions, the VEX V5 Limit Switch must be connected to Port $A$ of the VEX V5 Brain.