Homework

Science Olympiad 2025-2026

Try-out Homework for New Members

Complete the following assignment. Bring your device with name on it and your log to Mrs. Kappel’s room on Tuesday morning, 9/10/24 from 8:45 am – 9:00 am (homeroom).

This Homework is an important portion of your Science Olympiad Try-outs. You can ask your parents questions and discuss ideas with them, but they cannot do the work for you. We only want a student’s best work!

Student Name (Printed) ____________________________ Predicted Run Time (seconds) _______

Parent: I did not help design or build this Rube Goldberg Device.

Parent Name (Printed) _____________________________ Parent Signature ________________________

Objective

Brainstorm, sketch and develop a Rube Goldberg machine where a small marble (or other small sphere) is dropped into the device and follows a series of actions to pop a balloon. At the testing day meeting, you will set up and run your device ONE time. The goal is to have a device that matches your log and follows all rules. The log is a very important part of the assignment. Your device should be designed for easy transport to school and should fit in a box no bigger than 60 cm. x 60 cm.

Deliverables – Due Date September 10, 2024

Build and test a Rube Goldberg Device that follows the requirements.
Create a log book that includes all items in the requirements, including a photograph of you testing your device.
Bring your device, marble (or sphere), balloon and Log book to school during homeroom, 8:45 – 9:00 am, on 9/10/2024 to Mrs. Kappel’s Room 640, on the science hall in the 6th grade pod.
Place marble and balloon in baggie taped to device or inside of box for transfer.
Testing will take place at the after school meeting on 9/10.
Bring this page with your parent signature attached to your log (sheets of paper stapled together).
You will take your device home at the conclusion of the meeting. We will keep your log book. .
If you are sick and unable to be at the meeting, contact Mrs. Kappel ASAP.

∙ Student 5:30 pm pick-up; parent parking behind school only!

Homework Evaluation – things you will be measured on:

Sportsmanship at meetings
Rube Goldberg Requirements/Constraints followed.
Evidence of home tests of final Rube Goldberg design in Log Book.
Log Book Requirements/Constraints followed.

Goldberg (RG) Requirements/Constraints

Label your device with your name. You may also name your device but this is not required.
Create a Rube Goldberg Device with a minimum of 3 actions in-between the prescribed Starting action (Marble dropping) and ending action (Balloon popping).
The starting action is a marble you will drop into the RG device.
The ending action will be popping a balloon.
The following is an example of a RG Device, Note this is for reference only, as you will create your own design .:
- A small marble will drop into the device, hit a wedge and stop. The wedge separates 2 marbles. One marble rolls down a ramp to hit a domino. The domino hit by the marble cascades a series of dominoes. The final domino will strike a lever that will roll a car with a pin attached down a ramp to pop a balloon.
At least 1 of your actions must be a Simple Machine (i.e. wedge, wheel & axle, lever, inclined plane, screw or pulley).

The base of the container you bring your RG device in to school must be less than 60 cm x 60 cm.
Your device must be easy to set up at the meeting in a very short amount of time..
NO commercial Rube Goldberg kits can be used – this is a creative building project.
Use things that you can find around your house to build your Rube Goldberg Device. Toys may be used for parts as long as they are not from a Rube Goldberg type kit.
You need to bring a balloon to test.

Log Book Requirements and Rubric

∙Your Log Book should be notebook paper stapled together. Your log book will not be returned.

Include the following in your Log Book:

Write Your full Name, Grade, and Title (be creative with this) on the Rubric which will be the front cover of your log book
Record At least 2 labeled sketches of the Rube Goldberg device before you decide on a design
Describe what each of the actions with-in the Rube Goldberg device is doing for your final design.
Identify which actions are Simple Machines and what type Simple Machine.
Data Table:
- Create a Data table to record your testing Data for trial runs. Data to include:
  - Date of testing
  - Number of actions included in this test run
  - Number of actions successfully completed without touching device
  - Time of run from dropping marble to end of run
  - Notes about test run
- Record your run time in seconds to the 1/10th place. For example: 2.45 seconds on a cell phone stop watch equals 2.5 seconds in your data table. Include an average for all runs in your data table.
Create a graph of your data and include in your logbook. This can be hand plotted or by computer.
Include the 1st page of instructions with parent signature in your logbook. Record the predicted run time on that page ( near parent’s signature)

Include a picture of you testing your Rube Goldberg Device in your Log.

Science Olympiad 2024-2025

RUBRIC Try-out Homework

Student name ___________________________________

Grade _________

Homeroom Teacher ______________________________

HW Title _______________________________________________________________

Estimated Run Time _________

Student - Do not write below this point

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Actual Run Time __________

Good Sportsmanship Exhibited Yes No ________________________

Run and Testing day Comments:

__________________________________________________________________

Deliverables

Turned in on Time

All rules followed

Notes

Logbook

Yes No

RG Device

Yes No

In on time: Yes - turned in before school to Mrs. Kappel room. NO - any other time

Followed Rules: Score 1-10 (10 is all rules were followed and 1 very few followed)

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