Rube Goldberg Machine

Copy of Rube Goldberg Presentation
IMG_6492.MOV

Requirements for Rube Goldberg Machine:

-At least 10 steps

- 5 simple machines

-3 elements of design

- 4 energy transfers

- A blueprint for our work

- Calculations for every step


Above is a video of our Rube Goldberg Machine. We started this project on September 3rd and finished it on September 24th. We presented it on October 5th. This machine incorporated 10 steps, 5 simple machines (screw, pulley, lever, inclined plane, and wheel + axle). We had 4 energy transfers (PE to KE, Marble to Block, Marble to Ball, and Ball to Weight). Our 3 elements of design were balance, movement, and rhythm. To me, the hardest part of this project was getting our 10th step, the wheel + axle to work. The problem was that the string would constantly get caught on the cardboard, so to fix it we found a cardboard piece with a smoother edge, which we cut into a circle, and then ended up using.


My Ten Steps:

Step 1: Ball rolls down the screw

Step 2: Marble comes out of the screw and knocks over the "I"

Step 3: The "I" falls into the cup

Step 4: The "I" side of the pulley goes down while the other side goes up

Step 5: The cup on the right side hits the block of wood which becomes a lever

Step 6: The marble on the lever rolls down into a chute

Step 7: The ball that rolls into the chute, pushes another ball

Step 8: The ball rolls down the inclined plane that was connected to the edge of the chute

Step 9: The ball knocks over a weight which falls to the ground, puling a string with it

Step 10: The string pulls in a round wooden block which closes the curtain

Our 3 Elements of Design

  1. Our first element of design is balance. This was shown in our machine because the action is spread equally from the left, right, top, and bottom of the wood.

  2. Our next element of design is movement. This can be seen through the painting of the rippling water and through the car tracks which give off the illusion of something moving through it.

  3. Our last element of design is rhythm. This is portrayed in our machine through the many car tracks that show how everything is connected to each other.

Our 5 simple machines

  1. Our first simple machine was the screw. It has one and a half spins and leads to a pulley.

  2. Our pulley is our second simple machine and has weights on one side to ensure that the other side flies up.

  3. The lever is our third simple machine and it has a ball that rolls down along some barriers to keep it from falling off.

  4. Our inclined plane is our fourth simple machine and leads up to the wheel and axle with a large ball on it.

  5. Our last step is our wheel + axle, which is a ball pushing a weight which pulls the inner circle to do all the work while the outer circle spins to close the curtain.

  1. PE to KE- In our first step, before the marble does anything, it has potential energy, when it's dropped down from the screw, it's converted into kinetic energy.

  2. There is an energy transfer from the ball rolling down the screw to the block that gets pushed over into the pulley.

  3. When the marble rolls down the ramp and hits the ball, all its kinetic energy is transferred. Then the ball's potential energy is converted into kinetic as it rolls down the ramp.

  4. As the ball rolls down the inclined plane, its energy is converted into kinetic. It hits the weight turning its potential energy into kinetic as it falls.



  1. Screw

2. Pulley

3. Lever

4. Inclined Plane

5. Wheel + Axle

Reflection: I loved doing this project because it was our first one and I got to work with my teammates that I had just met. We all showed our skills throughout the project. At the beginning of our project, I didn't work as much as my teammates did. I would wonder around the makerspace and talk to my friends throughout the whole period. It really showed in our first set of collaboration scores. After I looked at the scores that my teammates gave me, I decided to work as hard as I can for the rest of the project. I tried to talk more and take on more of a leadership role. I still lack leadership and empathy. I should let other people give out their ideas and implement them instead of just thinking my own ideas are better than others.