Rube Goldberg machine

what is a Rube goldberg machine?

My first ever project assigned to me in STEM was to create a Rube Goldberg machine. which is when you use a series of simple machines to over complicate a simple task such as filling a tank, popping a balloon, or watering a plant. This was dubbed a "Rube Goldberg machine" after american cartoonist Rube Goldberg, who frequently would draw such machines.

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What we did

Throughout the course of around 15 building days and around 3 prep days, we were given the task to create a Rube Goldberg machine consisting of a 10 or more steps, 4 energy transfers, and 5 simple machine. We first started with the idea of our final step to be filling a fish tank, so we built our under water theme and overall steps around that simple task. We wanted to pop a balloon for our final step in order "wow" the judges and end on a good note. So all of the steps leading up to it, were carefully planned out to allow for the poping of the balloon.

On the left is a video of our final product and how all of it played out, along with our slides that we used to present on Rude Goldberg night.

Rube Goldberg Presentation

Our final product

Our final product consisted of 12 total steps. With the rolling of a wheel and axle to allow a ball to roll onto a ramp as the 1st. Which then would roll down it, hitting the dominoes for our 2nd and 3rd step. Our 4th and 5th step was when the dominoes would hit the car which could cause it to roll into a ball and hit it. This marble would then role into a screw and come out onto a pipe for our 6th and 7th step. Once that had happened the marble would hit a baseball for our 8th step, which would fall onto a lever for our 9th step. Then for our 10th step the lever hit another lever above it causing a nail to come down, popping the balloon which was the 11th step. Finally, the water would fall down a pipe, filling a fish tank.

Build days

Although we had around 15 real build days. On paper we were supposed to have only 9 designated build days, which is where we had most of our building and construction on. The rest of the days after were mostly used to finish the final touches and create the google slide. As well as memorize and practice our presentation for Rube Goldberg night.

On the left is the 9 day schedule, and what we did each day.

On the right is the full schedule from start to finish. With each day we worked on it, and what was done each day.

Acceleration:

Acceleration is the of change in a velocity, so in our Rube Goldberg machine we used it in most steps. Like when the marble rolled down the ramp at an accelertation of 1.38 m/s^(2)

Velocity:

Velocity is the rate of distance covered in a direction. This was used when the baseball was hit by the marble causing it to fall down at a velocity of 0.39 m/s

Force

force is the push or pull on an object causing a change in motion. For example when the car rolled down to hit the marble it did so at a force of 0.1862 N (newtons)

Work

work is the amount of energy put into something. For example when the marble rolled down the ramp after coming out of the wheel and axle it did so with a total work of 0.06 J (joules)

Potential Energy

Potential Energy is the amount of energy a given object has while at rest. This can be demonstrated when right before the second marble hits the baseball it has a PE(potential Energy) of 0.04 J which means that that is the total energy that can be transferred into the baseball.

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic Energy is defined as energy caused due to motion. This can be seen when the car hit the second marble which exerted a KE (Kinetic Energy) of 0.004 J

Mechanical Advantage

Mechanical Advantage is how much easier a tool or machine makes a task. For example when the baseball falls onto the lever it has a mechanical advantage of 0.61

Simple machines

A simple machine is some sort of machine that makes a task easier but isnt hard to make or understand. In our Rube Goldberg machine we had a total of 5 simple machines. One example of it was our lever that was used to pop the balloon.

Reflection

After going through the planning, building, and presentation of my Rube Goldberg machine I believe that overall my team did a good job on it. Through the ups and downs of building and the pressure of presenting in front of judges we did most things right. We were able to finish the building of the machine itself with a couple days to spare, and finished the slide show the day before presentations. Which allowed us to practice and memorize our presentation. I think that I was able to work well with my team, and overall we collaborated and worked well together. We divided responsibilities on what each person was best at to ensure the best outcome. If we didn't understand something, or something was going wrong we brainstormed and worked together to fix the problem. Besides working well together my team and I were able to critically think and solve problems when they occurred in our machine, calculations, or overall presentation. For instance when our idea to have scissors cut a piece of string didn't work we were able to figure out a solution, and changed it to a lever system. Although I believe overall my team and I did a great job on the project I still think there was some room for improvement. One thing that I think I could've done better was be more compassionate, and more pleasant to work with. When I look back on the project there were times where I didn't need to rush my team or I could not have been as harsh when something went wrong. I also think that during the Rube Goldberg project I could have spoken more during the presentation part of the project. This would have made my team and I look better to the judges and maybe we could have gotten a better grade, had I spoken up more.

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