Rube Goldberg Machine

What is a Rube Goldberg Machine?

A Rube Goldberg Machine is a machine that uses a series of steps and chain reactions to complete a simple task in a complex way. It is named after the cartoonist, Rube Goldberg.

Our Task

Over the course of four weeks, our group worked to create our very own Rube Goldberg Machine to implement what we learned about forces and energy in class. The machine had to have at least 10 steps, 5 simple machines, 4 energy transfers, and 3 elements of design.

My group consisted of Izzie, Sahana, Jordan, and me. We were given about four weeks to design a blueprint, construct, and present our project. Our end result had 14 steps and 6 simple machines. We chose sports as the theme, including bowling, soccer, basketball, skiing, tennis, and more. The final step of the machine was hitting a golf ball into a hole.

Presentation

Copy of Rube Goldberg Machine

RG Speaker Notes

Blueprints

Here is our original blueprint compared to our final blueprint. We practically stuck with our original blueprint, but there were some changes we made to the design. We used a rubber tube as the screw instead of having an open half-tube, put the golf club on the left side instead of the right side, and added a platform for the golf hole. Other minor changes were switching out the heavy ball at the end for a wooden wheel, adding railings and a small wedge to the gymnast ramp.

Construction Log

Day 1: Picked out the backboard and attached first ramp

Day 2: Painted the background and attached domino platform and soccer ramp

Day 3/4: Constructed and attached soccer goal and lever

Day 5: Attached skier ramp, ping pong paddle, and half tube ramp

Day 6: Constructed pulley and added net to soccer goal

Day 7: Attached pulley and gymnast ramp

Day 8/9: Built and attached screw

Day 10: Constructed and attached basketball platform and second pulley

Day 11: Attatched golf club and platform; painting

Content

Velocity (v): the rate of distance covered in a direction. Velocity is found by dividing the change in distance by the change in time. Units - meters per second (m/s)

Example: the soccer ball (golf ball) had an average velocity of 0.6m/s

Acceleration (a): the rate of change in velocity. Acceleration can be calculated by dividing the change in velocity by the change in time. The acceleration on a ramp can be calculated by dividing the acceleration due to gravity by the mechanical advantage of the ramp. Units - meters per second squared (m/s^2)

Example: the acceleration of the weighted tennis ball on the ramp was 1.8m/s^2

Acceleration due to gravity (g): the acceleration of objects in a gravitational field. The acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.8m/s^2. Units - m/s^2

Example: any object in free fall on Earth would have an acceleration of 9.8m/s^2

Force (F): the push or pull on an object. Force is calculated by multiplying mass by acceleration. It can also be found using a spring scale. Units - Newtons (N)

Example: it took 2N of force to pull out the pin that releases the golf club

Work (W): the amount of energy put into something. Work can be found by multiplying the force by the change in distance. It can also be calculated by finding the change in potential or kinetic energy. Units - Joules (J)

Example: the work done to lift the weight in the second pulley was 0.3J

Potential Energy (PE) : the energy of an object at rest. Potential energy is calculated by multiplying the mass, acceleration due to gravity, and height off the ground. Units - J

Example: the skier car had a 0.34J of potential energy at the top of the ramp

Kinetic Energy (KE): the energy of motion. Kinetic energy can be calculated by multiplying the mass of the object by the velocity squared, then dividing by 2. Units - J

Example: the golf ball in the final step had 0.0005J of kinetic energy

Mechanical Advantage:

Mechanical Advantage Real (MAreal): how much easier (less force) a tool makes a task. MAreal can be found by dividing the force of the load by the force of the effort put in.

Mechanical Advantage Ideal (MAideal): how much further (more distance) you have to push when using a tool. MAideal can be found by dividing the distance of the load by the distance of the effort.

Example: the skier ramp had a mechanical advantage of 5

Toppling: when the center of gravity of an object extends beyond its base, the object will topple.

Example: the dominoes toppled, creating a chain reaction

Simple Machines

Inclined Plane: a flat surface tilted at an angle. It uses the force of gravity to allow objects to roll down the ramp.

Example: the first step involves a ball rolling down a ramp

Lever: a rigid beam that can pivot around one point. It transfers energy when force is applied on one side and outputted on the other.

Example: the ping pong paddle and golf club both acted as levers in the machine

Wheel and axle: a wheel attached to a shaft that rotate together

Example: the wheel and axle in the skier car helped the car move along the ramp

Pulley: a wheel that a rope is pulled over to lift or lower objects.

Example: the basketball falls in the cup on one side of the pulley, causing the other side to go up

Wedge: a triangular shaped tool that is driven between two objects to separate or secure them

Example: the gymnast wheel hits a small wedge that then hits a marble

Screw: an inclined plane wrapped around. It converts rotational motion into linear motion.

Example: the marble rolls down a screw, which is a rubber tube that loops around 1 1/2 times

Calculations

Here are the calculations I did to find the physics of the machine.

RG Calculations

Reflection

Overall, I think this project was challenging but very successful. Our final product ended up looking visually appealing and most steps worked most of the time. However, we did not get along well with one of our teammates and got into many arguments. Because we were too ambitious in designing the project and adding too many steps, we had to put in a lot of effort and even take an extra build day to finish our machine and make it work.

Some things I did well on were critical thinking and communication. When a certain part of the machine didn't work we were able to use critical thinking skills to find a way to fix it or improve it. For example, in step 10, we couldn't get the gymnast wheel to hit the marble into the screw every time, so I suggested that we use a small wooden wedge that would transfer the motion from the wheel to the marble. Another thing I think my group and I were also successful with communication. I was able to clearly get across my ideas and effectively communicate with my teammates. Furthermore, we presented thoroughly and confidently on presentation night, although some technical issues did not go as optimally as they could have.

However, there were also many aspects that my group and I could improve on. Personally, I can improve on character and attitude toward my team. For this project, I took on more of a leadership role and was assertive toward my group members. I could have been kinder to my group members, and showed more respect towards them when debating ideas. Another thing my group and I could improve upon is conscientious learner. In the beginning, we created a blueprint for the machine that was elaborate and had many steps. This was setting high standards for ourselves and resulted in having to put in extra time and effort to finish the machine. One way we could have managed time better was to realize the power of the power tools earlier on so that the contruction process would go faster and more efficient.

In conclusion, as the first project of the year, this was highly successful and I am very pleased with the quality of our final product and presentation. This project has taught me some things about working as a team that I can improve on and use in the next project.

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