Rube Goldberg Machine
The Rube Goldberg Machine is a project where we build a machine that accomplishes a simple task with with many complex steps. For this project we used a 4 by 4 foot board that we cut and customized for our design. We wanted to push a soccer ball into a goal and we took 10 steps to do it, along with 4 energy transfers, 5 simple machines, and 3 elements of design.
Final Product:
For this project our goal was to work on different things at different times so we could get more things accomplished in a day, when building the project most of the work was together until the end where we split up tasks to save time. In the end our project managed to have all the requirements and was better then what we expected for it to look like. A wheel and axle pushes a marble into a tube, then rolls down two ramps, and then into a pulley system. The pulley that goes down knocks over three dominoes and the pulley that goes up knocks over a lever that pushes a marble down a tube and rolls down a ramp that hits the soccer ball one. The dominoes from before knock over a marble that goes down four inclined planes and then the ramp at the end and knocks over the soccer ball causing the soccer ball, and two marbles to roll into the goal at the end of the board.
Physics:
Velocity and Acceleration:
Velocity is the rate covered in a distance, and acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. Velocity and acceleration can be seen in steps 2, 7, 8, and 10. In those steps balls or marbles get released and start to move, so we calculate there velocity and acceleration.
Force and Work:
Force is the push or pull on an object, and work is the amount of energy put in to an object. Force and work can be seen in steps 4, 5, 6, and 9. In those steps objects get pushed or pulled by something that was accelerating that pushed into something else, which caused these steps to have force.
Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy:
Potential energy is the amount of energy being stored in an object that's not in motion, and kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to motion. In our 4 energy transfers, these two types of energy can be seen.
Mechanical Advantage:
Mechanical Advantage has two definitions. Mechanical advantage real is how much easier a tool makes a task. And mechanical advantage ideal is how much further you have to push when using a tool. Mechanical advantage can be seen in steps 1 and 3, because they both involve simple machines.
Our Simple Machines:
- Lever: Consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the location of fulcrum, load and effort.
- Wheel and Axle: Consisting of an axle to which a wheel is fastened so that torque applied to the wheel winds a rope or chain onto the axle.
- Inclined Plane: A flat supporting surface tilted at an angle, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load; like a ramp.
- Pulley System: A sheave or small wheel with a grooved rim and with or without the block in which it runs used singly with a rope or chain to change the direction and point of application of a pulling force and in various combinations to increase the applied force especially for lifting.
- Wedge: A piece of hard material with two principal faces meeting in a sharply acute angle, or for raising, holding.
Reflection:
I enjoyed this project, because I haven't done one like this before, I haven't done a project with building nor physics, which is why I liked it so much, because it was different. But there are some things that my group and I could've done differently that would've bettered the project. For example we focused much of our time on the building and physics and although we had some decoration it still wasn't enough. And we could've decorated more but we didn't have the time in the end. And a lot of the time we would go off and talk to friends during the project, and although we got our work done it wasn't a good habit. So for our next STEM projects we'll be working on staying more on task.
And during this project I had learned about my own struggles too. I think I should've contributed more ideas so that we wouldn't get struck as much and I should've taken the leadership role more often, because no one was really doing it, if someone was it would've been a bit easier. And I think I should've contributed more in the building part so I could learn to use certain tools that I would be using in the future, because I only know how to use a few.
Despite that and our projects few flaws, we actually did pretty well compared to most groups. Our project worked almost every time we ran it, our presentation was clear and we spoke loud and with confidence. Also during the presentation we knew what we were talking about and could explain even more than what was written on the slides for our slideshow. And many other things as well. Overall I enjoyed this project!