Rube Goldberg Machine
A Rube Goldberg Machine is a machine that accomplishes a simple task in a complicated way. The machine needed to have 5 simple machines, 10 steps, and 4 energy transfers. We used a pulley system, levers, wedges, inclined planes, and a screw for our simple machines. The machine we created accomplished the goal of crushing a soda can. With about 4 weeks of planning, building, and editing, we completed our project. A lot of thought and collaboration had to be put into the machine to make it work.
Here is a video of our machine working.
To see all of the calculations we did for our project, watch the slideshow below
Physics Concepts:
Force: Force is a push or a pull on an object, and causes a change in motion. Force was apart of all of our steps in the machine. One example is, we used the equation force= mass x acceleration to find the force of the weight falling onto the first lever in our first step.
Mechanical Advantage: Mechanical advantage is a ratio that shows how much easier a tool makes to accomplish something. The levers in step two and the pulley system in step 10 both are examples of mechanical advantage.
Velocity: Velocity is the rate of distance traveled in a certain direction by an object. The ball when rolling down the incline planes has velocity.
Acceleration: Acceleration is the speeding up or slowing down of an object's velocity. Acceleration is found in many steps of the Rube Goldberg Machine. For instance, the ball rolling down the screw shows acceleration.
Toppling: Toppling is shown in our first step when the dominoes are pushed and cause the weight to fall onto the first lever. Toppling is caused when an object's center of gravity is changed, making it fall.
Potential Energy: Potential energy is the amount of energy an object has due to its' position. The marble while rolling down the series of inclined planes showed potential energy transferring into kinetic energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is energy due to motion. Potential Energy and kinetic energy can transfer into each other. For example, when the weight is hung over the soda can with fishing wire it has potential energy and when the scissors cut that wire, it turns into kinetic energy.
All of these concepts and calculations had roots in algebra that were needed to solve and understand.
Mechanical Advantage: Mechanical advantage is a ratio that shows how much easier a tool makes to accomplish something. The levers in step two and the pulley system in step 10 both are examples of mechanical advantage.
Velocity: Velocity is the rate of distance traveled in a certain direction by an object. The ball when rolling down the incline planes has velocity.
Acceleration: Acceleration is the speeding up or slowing down of an object's velocity. Acceleration is found in many steps of the Rube Goldberg Machine. For instance, the ball rolling down the screw shows acceleration.
Toppling: Toppling is shown in our first step when the dominoes are pushed and cause the weight to fall onto the first lever. Toppling is caused when an object's center of gravity is changed, making it fall.
Potential Energy: Potential energy is the amount of energy an object has due to its' position. The marble while rolling down the series of inclined planes showed potential energy transferring into kinetic energy.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is energy due to motion. Potential Energy and kinetic energy can transfer into each other. For example, when the weight is hung over the soda can with fishing wire it has potential energy and when the scissors cut that wire, it turns into kinetic energy.
All of these concepts and calculations had roots in algebra that were needed to solve and understand.
Reflection on the Project
The Rube Goldberg Machine took a lot of time to complete; once it was over, I was proud of the work we did. Each day we accomplished something new, and slowly we started seeing the machine come together.However, our machine took time to create. Three problems we faced were the construction of the double lever, the screw, and the pulley system. The first problem with the levers is that they would not stay on the fulcrum, and would slide off. We solved this by adding a longer board underneath, a board on the side to keep it from sliding too far horizontally, and cut notches in the lever to keep it placed. Our second problem with the lever was that our weight was not heavy enough to cause both levers to function. We decided to replace our weight we originally had (which was a domino) with a .71 kg weight; the weight was heavy enough to make both levers work. Our problem with the screw was the fact that we couldn't manage to keep the screw up and in the position we needed it to be in. The solution to make the screw stay up was to attach a board underneath the side of the screw to support it, and screw in two nails to hold the beginning part of the screw (where the ball falls in and begins to roll) up in the correct position. The last problem we faced was the pulley. This system was very difficult to make successful. First we couldn't get the weight the would fall and trigger the pulley to be heavy enough, so we added a bunch of weights inside the can and had the ball push the can over. Secondly, the scissors we had would not cut the string we had planned on using, so we replaced that string with fishing wire. Lastly, we had trouble making the pulley system pull up the handle of the scissors. Many adjustments of string sizes and ideas were used and in the end, it worked.
Throughout this I learned that I was very good at putting out ideas that could help. One of my ideas was using fishing wire instead of normal string when cutting the weight in the pulley system.The scissors could cut the fishing wire unlike the string before, and that made our project work. Another thing I learned was that I was good at during this project was time management. I tried my best to make sure we always completed something each day when building, and in the end we had the right amount of time to finish our final steps. One thing I think I struggled at was that I needed to stay motivated and keep trying when something doesn't work the first few times. If something didn't work right away, I would just let someone else do what I was trying to accomplish, instead of me attempting to make it work. Next time I should keep trying until I get it right. Another thing I need to improve on is to be patient when trying to construct things. I felt impatient sometimes when we were trying to complete something that was taking too long.
This project taught me things I did not known before. I believe I developed new skills throughout the weeks, and I was satisfied with my end results.
Throughout this I learned that I was very good at putting out ideas that could help. One of my ideas was using fishing wire instead of normal string when cutting the weight in the pulley system.The scissors could cut the fishing wire unlike the string before, and that made our project work. Another thing I learned was that I was good at during this project was time management. I tried my best to make sure we always completed something each day when building, and in the end we had the right amount of time to finish our final steps. One thing I think I struggled at was that I needed to stay motivated and keep trying when something doesn't work the first few times. If something didn't work right away, I would just let someone else do what I was trying to accomplish, instead of me attempting to make it work. Next time I should keep trying until I get it right. Another thing I need to improve on is to be patient when trying to construct things. I felt impatient sometimes when we were trying to complete something that was taking too long.
This project taught me things I did not known before. I believe I developed new skills throughout the weeks, and I was satisfied with my end results.