1. A marble with a larger mass triggers the opposite side of the pulley to move up.

2. The side of the pulley that had moved up then tips the left side of the lever up, causing another marble that had been resting in the center of the lever to fall down.

3. The marble lands onto a ramp causing it to rush down at a slight horizontal angle.

4. At the end of the ramp, the marble lands into a cup attached to the wheel and axle. The heavier mass of it moves the wheel until a new marble falls down.

5. The new marble lands onto another inclined plane.

6. The marble falls down our screw, descending down and around at a horizontal angle.

7. The marble rapidly rolls out of the screw knocking down a series of marbles.

8. The dominos are lined up on steps going up, so after climbing to the top, the last domino falls down an inclined plane.

9. Once the domino reaches the bottom, it pushes and releases a final marble to go down our last inclined plane.

10. The marble pushes a piece of cardboard with a push pin stuck in it into a balloon which then pops it.

Acceleration, a: Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. The unit for acceleration is: m/s² . You can calculate this by dividing velocity by time. We used this to calculate the acceleration of our marble.

Force, F: Force is the push or pull of an object. The unit for force is: N (Newtons). You can calculate this by multiplying mass by acceleration (ma). We used this to calculate the force used to move our pulley.

Velocity, v: Velocity is the rate of covered distance in a direction. The unit for velocity is: m/s. You can calculate this by dividing the change of distance by the change of time( change d/change t). We used this to find the velocity of the marble in our screw.

Work, W: Work is the amount of energy put into an object. The unit for work is: J. You can calculate this by multiplying force by distance (fd). We used this to find how much work was needed to move our lever upward.

Potential Energy, PE: Potential energy is the energy an object has due to being at a height or its position in a gravitational field. The unit for potential energy is: J. You can calculate this by multiplying mass by gravity and height (mgh). We used this to show how much PE was used before the marble has fallen down the ramp.

Kinetic Energy, KE: Kinetic energy is energy due to motion. The unit for kinetic energy is: J. You can calculate this by multiply 1/2 by mass and velocity squared (1/2 mv² ). We used this to show how much KE was used after falling down the ramp.

Ideal Mechanical Advantage, MA ideal: Ideal mechanical advantage is how much further you have to push when using a tool. You can solve for ideal mechanical advantage by dividing the distance of the effort by the distance of the load (d effort/d load). We used this when we calculated the MA ideal for our wheel and axle.

Real Mechanical Advantage, MA real: Real mechanical advantage is how much easier a tool makes a task. You can solve for real mechanical advantage by dividing the force of the load by the force of the effort (f load, f effort). We used this when we calculated the MA real for our pulley.

Pulley: A pulley is a wheel with a grooved rim around which a cord lines. It changes the direction of a force applied to the cord and is typically used to raise heavy weights. This is demonstrated in step 1 of our Rube Goldberg machine.

Lever: A lever is a beam that is connected to a fulcrum at which it moves over, trading off the weight from each side. This is demonstrated in steps 2 and 10 of our Rube Goldberg machine.

Inclined Plane: An inclined plane is a plane that is placed at an angle. This is demonstrated in steps 3, 5, and 8 of our Rube Goldberg machine.

Wheel and axle: A wheel and axle is wheel or that revolves or spins around an axle. This is demonstrated in step 4 of our Rube Goldberg machine.

Screw: A screw is a downwards spiral. It is similar to an inclined plane in the sense that they both express vertical motion at an angle. This is demonstrated in step 6.

Final Product:

Although we had spent overtime working on the success of our Rube Goldberg Machine, we were over the moon with how amazing it had turned out. Originally, our simple task was to turn on a strand of Christmas lights that were in our ¨spaceship¨. This was completed when a marble would fall on top of a piece of foil, connecting two circuits beneath it. But, when our lights got destroyed, we had to come up with a last minute plan B. Instead of turning on lights, we had decided to pop a balloon. After quite a few rounds of trial and error, we had finally reached our goal of making our simple machine work. All together, we had a total of 11 steps and 5 simple machines. Our biggest attractions of our project were the wheel and axle, the beginning pulley system, and the popping of the balloon.

Although our group project ended up working well, there was definitely room for improvement. One of the biggest flaws that we had throughout the whole process was time management. Our team did a poor job keeping track of how much of our machine we would need to finish each day in order to finish it within the given deadline. As a result of that, the last two weeks of building was crunch time for us. We would often find ourselves coming in at lunch and after school trying to exceed our expectations.

Another common issue was staying on task and keeping at least a majority of our tasks on topic. This was actually something that had to be addressed to each other a numerous amount of times. We would see each other going to different groups to ¨check up¨ on them. After a week or so, it had become a habit. This was actually the cause of our poor time management. If we had stayed within our group and kept somewhat of a tunnel vision on our project, I strongly feel that we would've been able to finish it. Not only on time, but stress free as well.

Despite our overall group issues, one weak area that I think I need to work on is being confident enough to pick up a power tool and get my hands a little dirtier. Even though I had built my share of the project, I wasn't usually the one doing the cutting of the wood, drilling, etc. My goal is that I can flip that switch by the end of this year and keep on practicing and volunteering my help in the use of power tools.

Although we had experienced a roller coaster of emotions, it still brings a smile to my face thinking about how amazing this project was, and I wouldn't want to do it with any other group. Our group excelled with creativeness, communication, and empathy for each other. I like to think that if you don't mesh with your team and the energy is always negative, you will never be able to perform to your best ability or even overall, succeed. Thankfully, that was never a problem.