Rube Goldberg machine

Base of project

For our first STEM project in San Marin we worked on making our own version of the machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is an invention where you over complicate the machine to achieve a simple task, this simple task can range from anything you want to accomplish. Named and invented by American cartoonist and inventor.

Assignment

Each STEM group whould consist of 3 team mates . Mine had 2 other team mates who are Kiana and Melissa. In this group we each took different assignments. One got creative work the other did calculations, and I did the physical work including the groundwork. This assignment was assigned to us right when we started school and ever since we were assigned to it we worked on it until the beginning of October. This project required us to have this generality of STEM which was the simple machines and equations and all the other important physics work did to help us improve this project.

Our Project

Product

As you see the image on the left we competed the machine. Our theme of the project was a carnival because when we started this project it was beginning of the school year. We thought of the stuff we did over the summer and we all went to the Marin county fair so we thought we should do the theme based on that. In our machine we have 10 steps. These steps were all based on things you did at a fair. Such as pooping baloons with darts, confetti poppers which represented fireworks and all other kinds of summer fair fun. At the end of the project we were able to have the board fully working which once it was run every single step worked without failure.

Physics concepts

Acceleration (a) - Rate of change of the velocity (speeding up or slowing down) /Calculations: Divide velocity by time. The unit for this meters a second, seconds squared. M/S 2 example: For our first ramp the ball was accelerating at 18 M/S 2

Velocity (v) - The speed of something in a certain direction/ Calculations: Distance divided by time. The unit for this is meters a second. M/S. example: At our quarter screw when the marble went down into it had 0.76 M/S

Acceleration due to gravity (g) - Accelration of objects that are in a gravitational field/ Calculations: 1. velocity = the gravity times time, 2. distance =half gravity times time squared . The unit for this is 9.8 M/S 2 example: Once the marble falls out of the baloon that is attached to the board it falls at 9.8 M/S 2

Simple machine - A machine that helps you acheive a physical goal easier/ examples lever, pulley, wheel and axle, wedge, inclined plane, and screw. example: For our marble to go down into the pulley there needed to be an inclined so that the ball could go in that direction

Force (F) - Change in motion of an object that has push or pull on an object / Calculations:Force = mass times acceleration. The unit for this is N newtons. the equation is F=MA. example: The last step we had was when the weight pulled the confetti popper with a 2.78 worth of newtons

Potential energy (PE) - The energy an object has because of it's height or gravitational field/ Calculations: PE= Mass Gravity Height multiplied. The unit for this is (J) joules. PE=MGH example: when the marble fell from the baloon it has 0.003J

Kinetic energy ( KE) - An object in motion energy transfer/ Calculations:half of the mass multiplied by the velocity squared. The unit for this is (J) equation is. 1/2MV 2squared example: after the marble fell it had 0.003J

Energy transfer - Going from one type of energy to the other/ example:When that marble was at rest it was in a potential energy state then onece a force acted upon it, it started to move which transfered all of that potential energy into kinetic

Mechanical advantage - It depends what type of mechaical advatage you need because one is how much easier a task is which is real, then there's the other ideal which is how much further distance pushed using tool N/N MArealtask easier MAideal more disatnce example: On our middle inclined plane which had a marble rolling down had a mechanical advatage of 2

Reflection

I think that my group and I worked pretty well and reall made a dent of progress. We really acheived something creative that helps bring people together as well as adding this STEM element which is what it all really was about. This is a project that is a good starter for STEM. This one specifically helps having people share ideas which always improves thinking and creativity throughout the project. On the refliction of how I did I think that I did very well at the physical work and helped organize the board and contributed some key ideas. I do also think I needed to have some improvents in leading a team and being able to have everyone cordinated and on the same page.