Rube Goldberg Machine
The Rube Goldberg machine is a machine with a series of complex steps that does a very simply task. It was named after an inventor and cartoonist named Rube Goldberg. Our machine included several things:
~ Five simple machines: the inclined plane, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, and the pulley.
~ Four energy transfers
~ 10 steps
~ A presentation
The machine starts by lifting a wedge and letting the soccer roll the inclined plane. The soccer ball then hits the lever. The lever pushes a golf ball and a marble down an inclined planed. The golf ball falls down a big hole and into a pulley. The pulley will lift a wedge and effectively knocking down a cup of water. The water will go down the tube and into the teacup. As this is happening, the marble will fall down a smaller hole. The marble will then roll down a series of inclined planes and push the sugar cubes into the teacup. Our end result was to make tea.
~ Five simple machines: the inclined plane, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, and the pulley.
~ Four energy transfers
~ 10 steps
~ A presentation
The machine starts by lifting a wedge and letting the soccer roll the inclined plane. The soccer ball then hits the lever. The lever pushes a golf ball and a marble down an inclined planed. The golf ball falls down a big hole and into a pulley. The pulley will lift a wedge and effectively knocking down a cup of water. The water will go down the tube and into the teacup. As this is happening, the marble will fall down a smaller hole. The marble will then roll down a series of inclined planes and push the sugar cubes into the teacup. Our end result was to make tea.
This is our Rube Goldberg project.
Force: Force is the push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. The unit of force is newtons (N). To find force, you multiply the mass of the object by the gravity due to acceleration. When the soccer ball rolls down the ramp and hits the lever, it exerts a force.
Work: Work is the amount of force applied to move an object a certain distance. It is calculated by multiplying force and distance. When the marble hits the sugar cubes it is doing work.
Mechanical Advantage: Mechanical advantage is how much easier the machine makes work. This is calculated by dividing the input distance by the output distance. When the golf ball falls into the pulley and lifts the wedge, it has a mechanical advantage of one.
Energy: Energy is the capacity for doing work. Some types of energy are kinetic energy, potential energy, and thermal energy. When the golf ball falls down the hole onto the ramp, it changed from potential energy to kinetic energy.
Reflections
My group started by brainstorming. We came up with multiple ideas by just talking out loud. I began to think of what I did every morning and afternoon. Then, I came up with the idea of making chocolate milk. We all agreed to the idea of making chocolate milk. Afterwards, we began making the schematics. We decided that everyone should make their own sketch and share it with everyone once everyone was finished. In the end, we ended up using my sketch.
For the first two to three days, we spent it on trying to attach the inclined plane to the board. We had a very tough time using power tools since we were an all-girls group. However we got the hang of it and moved faster after those two days. Our time management, however, was not that great. By the last day, we were rushing to get everything ready. I feel like we could have used our time more efficiently.
In the end, we had to change our end result because the powder would cause too much friction in the tubes. We also had many problems with the fan that would stir the chocolate milk.
Overall, my group and I worked very well together. We had little conflict and were able to collaborate together.
Work: Work is the amount of force applied to move an object a certain distance. It is calculated by multiplying force and distance. When the marble hits the sugar cubes it is doing work.
Mechanical Advantage: Mechanical advantage is how much easier the machine makes work. This is calculated by dividing the input distance by the output distance. When the golf ball falls into the pulley and lifts the wedge, it has a mechanical advantage of one.
Energy: Energy is the capacity for doing work. Some types of energy are kinetic energy, potential energy, and thermal energy. When the golf ball falls down the hole onto the ramp, it changed from potential energy to kinetic energy.
Reflections
My group started by brainstorming. We came up with multiple ideas by just talking out loud. I began to think of what I did every morning and afternoon. Then, I came up with the idea of making chocolate milk. We all agreed to the idea of making chocolate milk. Afterwards, we began making the schematics. We decided that everyone should make their own sketch and share it with everyone once everyone was finished. In the end, we ended up using my sketch.
For the first two to three days, we spent it on trying to attach the inclined plane to the board. We had a very tough time using power tools since we were an all-girls group. However we got the hang of it and moved faster after those two days. Our time management, however, was not that great. By the last day, we were rushing to get everything ready. I feel like we could have used our time more efficiently.
In the end, we had to change our end result because the powder would cause too much friction in the tubes. We also had many problems with the fan that would stir the chocolate milk.
Overall, my group and I worked very well together. We had little conflict and were able to collaborate together.