During this project, I worked in a group to complete a Rube Goldberg machine. We had to fill a 4x4 ft piece of plywood with five simple machines, ten steps that involved physics, and decoration, all with a final goal. Before we started building our machine, however, we had to learn about the physics involved and how to go about building. Our class learned about how masses effect force, how acceleration occurs on Earth, mechanical advantage, etc. With our heads full of physics, we were prepared for calculations and math, but we still needed to learn how to build. A very fun day dedicated to power tool education readied us for construction. Our nine days of building ensued...
Day 1: We drew up a to scale idea of what our project is going to look like on the board.
Day 2: We finished drawing up the board and put in the first ledge for the first domino system.
Day 3: We put the first inclined plane and the screws for the first pulley system. We also started to work on the levers.
Day 4: We put on the first pulley system, we put the screws in for the shark zipline, we set up the second inclined plane, and we hammered in the fulcrums for the levers.
Day 5: We finished the levers and modified them to make them work. We also found a marble and a weight for lever. We also found a tube for our corkscrew tube. Lastly, we set up a ledge and made dominoes for the second domino system.
Day 6: We installed the corkscrew tube and installed the wheel. We also installed the shark for the zip line Lastly, we set up the wheel and axle right next to the exit of the corkscrew tube.
Day 7: We set up the last inclined plane at the bottom and made some rails for the inclined planes. Meanwhile, Kiki worked on the treasure chest at the end.
Day 8: We removed the wheel and axle as well as the last inclined plane to put in an inclined plane at the end of the tube and the wheel and axle at the end of that incline plane. We got ledges for wheel and axle to hit the marble and a ledge for the treasure chest. We also got pulleys for the treasure chest.
Day 9: We finished the Rube Goldberg Machine by setting up rails for the inclined planes, setting up the pulley system and attaching it to a weight and hook in the treasure chest, and we installed a little ledge for the first weight to rest on when it falls. After, we tested it a bunch but failed to get a perfect run. (We eventually did, but not on an actual build day)
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After three weeks, it was time for Rube Goldberg Physics Night. My group and I had worked hard to create Ocean in Motion. The machine had eleven steps, five different simple machines including a wheel and axle, inclined planes, two pulley systems, a screw, and two levers. Ocean in Motion gave a "full run" consistently, a result of careful corrections and measurement. Our group's machine, admittedly, had relatively weak aesthetics. However, this was because we had spent most of our time making the machine work and calculating the physics. Presentation night itself did not go as well as I had hoped. I blame myself for this. On our very first presentation, my teammates gave the signal to start, but I did not know what I was supposed to do. We struggled awkwardly through the first presentation, and the second one went better. I would have liked a better score, though. My favorite step on Ocean in Motion was our enlarging dominoes. I created them myself, and they looked really good when they worked.
Content - Physics That We learned
Force - F=ma Newtons (N)
A push or pull on an object measured in Newtons. When our first weight falls off the ledge after being hit by the dominoes, it has force.
Speed/Velocity - v=𝜟distance/𝜟time meters per second
Speed is the rate of covered distance, and velocity is the rate of covered distance in a direction. When any of the marbles roll down the inclined planes, they have velocity.
Mechanical Advantage - There are two types of MA, real and ideal. For our project, we calculated MAideal - distance effort/distance load.
Ideal mechanical advantage is how much further (distance) you have to push due to using a tool. There is no unit for MA because it is a ratio. Our screw has an ideal mechanical advantage of 2.8 because the marble rolls down a total distance that is 2.8 times as far as the vertical distance that the marble travels.
Work - W=Fd Joules (J)
Work is the amount of energy put into something. When the weight in our final step drops and opens the treasure chest, it is doing work.
Potential Energy - PE=mgh (J)
Potential energy is energy an object has due to its position at a height or in a gravitational field. The marble on our levers has potential energy because it is above an inclined plane that it is destined to roll down.
Kinetic Energy - KE=1/2mv^2 (J)
Kinetic energy is just energy due to motion, so if an object is in motion, it has kinetic energy. Again, any of the marbles have kinetic energy while they are rolling.
Acceleration - a=𝜟v/𝜟t meters per second squared m/s^2
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, or an object's motion. When the weights fall, they accelerate downward. On Earth, objects accelerate at 9.8 meters per second squared in a free fall until they reach terminal velocity.
A push or pull on an object measured in Newtons. When our first weight falls off the ledge after being hit by the dominoes, it has force.
Speed/Velocity - v=𝜟distance/𝜟time meters per second
Speed is the rate of covered distance, and velocity is the rate of covered distance in a direction. When any of the marbles roll down the inclined planes, they have velocity.
Mechanical Advantage - There are two types of MA, real and ideal. For our project, we calculated MAideal - distance effort/distance load.
Ideal mechanical advantage is how much further (distance) you have to push due to using a tool. There is no unit for MA because it is a ratio. Our screw has an ideal mechanical advantage of 2.8 because the marble rolls down a total distance that is 2.8 times as far as the vertical distance that the marble travels.
Work - W=Fd Joules (J)
Work is the amount of energy put into something. When the weight in our final step drops and opens the treasure chest, it is doing work.
Potential Energy - PE=mgh (J)
Potential energy is energy an object has due to its position at a height or in a gravitational field. The marble on our levers has potential energy because it is above an inclined plane that it is destined to roll down.
Kinetic Energy - KE=1/2mv^2 (J)
Kinetic energy is just energy due to motion, so if an object is in motion, it has kinetic energy. Again, any of the marbles have kinetic energy while they are rolling.
Acceleration - a=𝜟v/𝜟t meters per second squared m/s^2
Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity, or an object's motion. When the weights fall, they accelerate downward. On Earth, objects accelerate at 9.8 meters per second squared in a free fall until they reach terminal velocity.
Reflection
During this project, I certainly tested myself. It was hour after hour of constant focus and hard work. Speaking of, one thing I know that I demonstrated was great work ethic. Every day, work days and learning days alike, I came ready to go. I got the work that needed to be done done. My machine was finished on time and well made because of mine and my group's hard work. On one of the later days, I was having trouble perfecting the shark zip line, and it was getting frustrating. However, on my third build, the step worked. I credit that triumph to my work ethic. Another trait that helped me during the Rube Goldberg project was leadership. I directed my team and helped them when they were lost. My teammates looked to me when they needed help. I remember on one of the build days I told one teammate to work on one lever and another teammate to work on a different one while me and my fourth teammate worked on an inclined plane. It was probably our most productive build day.
I was not perfect, though, not even close. I mentioned that my leadership was excellent during this project, however, I was probably too controlling. On my collaboration rubric report, all of my teammates scored me the lowest in cooperation. They said that I needed to step back and let someone else lead, and I agree. I think that if I had let my teammates take the reins a little more, our project could have been even better. In the future, I will trust my group more and listen to their ideas better. During the Rube Goldberg Machine Project, I definitely could have been more positive. Although my teammates never complained, I felt like I was not acting upbeat and positive the I should have been. When my group mates informed me that they had finished a piece or that they had an idea, I could have been more positive and enthusiastic about it. In the future, I will focus more on keeping my teammates happy, and I will always be positive.
I was not perfect, though, not even close. I mentioned that my leadership was excellent during this project, however, I was probably too controlling. On my collaboration rubric report, all of my teammates scored me the lowest in cooperation. They said that I needed to step back and let someone else lead, and I agree. I think that if I had let my teammates take the reins a little more, our project could have been even better. In the future, I will trust my group more and listen to their ideas better. During the Rube Goldberg Machine Project, I definitely could have been more positive. Although my teammates never complained, I felt like I was not acting upbeat and positive the I should have been. When my group mates informed me that they had finished a piece or that they had an idea, I could have been more positive and enthusiastic about it. In the future, I will focus more on keeping my teammates happy, and I will always be positive.