Rube Goldberg Machine

Our Final Project

The machine that we decided to build was a water slide. In our first blueprint, which can be seen below on the left, we had water running through our whole machine and it started by dumping cups of water into the first ramp. After a few test runs with the water we found that even with duct tape there was way to much leaking going on to be able to run it smoothly with the water so that aspect was removed. A lot of the stuff stayed the same from our first blueprint to our final blueprint, which can be seen below on the right.

Steps-

1. Drop 2 marbles on to the first ramp of the machine

2. Marbles roll down the first ramps

3. Marbles go to the wall, run down the next ramp and enters the funnel

4. Funnel leads marbles through a twisting tube

5. Marbles exit the tube and run down a short ramp into the cup attached to pulley

6. Weight from the balls dropping into cup pulls wedge out from underneath a ball

7. The ball rolls down the rest of the ramp

8. The ball falls down a very steep ramp

9. The ball hits the lever or diving board

10. Lever tilts up and lets the ball roll down into the container filled with water below

Our Slide Presentation + Machine in use

Physics Content

1. Velocity- the speed of something in a given direction. The velocity for step 10 of our project is that the ball is moving 0.773 m/s.

2. Acceleration- is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. The acceleration in step 7 of our project is 0.44 m/s.

3. Force- A force is a push or pull upon an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object. The force in step 2 of our project is 0.704 Newtons.

4. Work- is the energy transferred to or from an object. The work in step 3 of our project is 0.014 Joules.

5. Potential Energy- is the energy held by an object relative to where it stands. The potential energy in step 1 of our project is 0.085 Joules.

6. Kinetic Energy- is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. The kinetic energy for step 8 of our project is 0.85 Joules.

7. Mechanical Advantage- measure of how much easier a tool, like a pulley, makes a task. The mechanical advantage of step 6 in our project is 1.

8. Simple Machines- is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. The simple machines in our project are inclined planes which are used in steps 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8. The next simple machine is a pulley which is used in steps 5 and 6. One more simple machine is the wedge which is used in step 6 and 7. Another simple machine is the screw or funnel and pipe which is used in steps 4 and 5. The last simple machine in our project is the lever which is used in step 9 of our project.

Construction Log

• Day 1

  • Build ramps

• Day 2

  • Add duct tape for smoother surfaces

• Day 3

  • Add funnel and tube

• Day 4

  • Finish tube, add another ramp

• Day 5

  • Begin work on pulley system

• Day 6

  • Continue pulley, add ramp for ball

• Day 7

  • Finish pulley, start lever

• Day 8

  • Add wedge (connected to pulley), finish lever

• Day 9

  • Add container for water below lever, tested

• Day 10

  • Finish machine (paint, decorations)

Reflection

One new skill that I learned from this project is how to communicate better with my group mates. Before this project I was not as good at talking to my group mates and asking people to do things but after this project I felt much more comfortable doing it. Another thing that I got better at was listening to directions from my group mates. I was not as good as I am now at following directions from people when we need something done. One thing that I want to do better in the next project is to spend more time on the look of it. I think that if my group and I spent more time on the art part of it then we would have had one of the best projects. Another thing that I think I could have done better is to manage our time better. If we managed our time better then we would have been able to accomplish a lot more in a shorter amount of time.