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Junior Cycle Applied Technology: Gears, pulleys & chain drives

How often Gears, pulleys & chain drives comes up on the Applied Technology papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

CL Asked on 5 of the last 5 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Gears, pulleys & chain drives, Common Level(9 marks)

Quick ones on Gears, pulleys & chain drives.

(a)A 15-tooth gear drives a 60-tooth gear. What is the velocity ratio (VR)?
  1. 45:1
  2. 4:1
  3. 75:1
(b)Why is a worm and wheel a good drive for a model winch lifting a load?
  1. It keeps both shafts in line
  2. It makes the drum turn very fast
  3. The wheel cannot turn the worm back
(c)A gearbox slows down the output of a toy car's motor. What happens to the turning force (torque)?
  1. It increases
  2. It stays the same
  3. It decreases
Show the answers

(a) 4:1

(b) The wheel cannot turn the worm back

(c) It increases

Your turn: Common Level questions on Gears, pulleys & chain drives.

Common Level

Asked on 5 of the last 5 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q2b(ii), Q3a(ii)
2025Q1c(i), Q1c(ii), Q3c(ii), Q3e(iii)
2024Q1c(i)
2023Q1d(iv), Q1d(v), Q2c(i), Q2c(ii), Q2c(iii), Q3b(ii), Q3c(i)
2022Q1f(ii), Q2e(iv)

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Gears, pulleys & chain drives questions

Gears, pulleys & chain drives, 3 marks

A bike's chainring has 48 teeth and its rear sprocket has 16 teeth. Pedals turn at 60 rpm. Rear wheel speed?

  1. 20 rpm
  2. 90 rpm
  3. 180 rpm
Show the answer

180 rpm

The rear sprocket (and wheel) turns 48 ÷ 16 = 3 times per pedal turn: 60 × 3 = 180 rpm. A small driven sprocket turns faster, which is how a bike gains speed.

Gears, pulleys & chain drives, 3 marks

A 12-tooth driver gear turns a 36-tooth driven gear. The driver turns at 90 rpm. Output speed?

  1. 45 rpm
  2. 30 rpm
  3. 270 rpm
Show the answer

30 rpm

Output = input × driver teeth ÷ driven teeth = 90 × 12 ÷ 36 = 30 rpm. The bigger driven gear turns more slowly: 3 turns of the driver for each of its turns.

Gears, pulleys & chain drives, 3 marks

A single-start worm turns at 600 rpm and drives a 30-tooth worm wheel. Wheel speed?

  1. 20 rpm
  2. 18,000 rpm
  3. 570 rpm
Show the answer

20 rpm

A single-start worm moves the wheel on one tooth per turn, so the wheel needs 30 worm turns for one turn: 600 ÷ 30 = 20 rpm. That is a big 30:1 reduction.

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