In this project my group and I built a Rube Goldberg Machine, which by definition is a series of complex steps that perform a simple task. The theme for our project was based off of the famous cartoon, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Our task at the end is for a boulder to fall on top of the coyote. There were many challenges during this past month, but it also had lots of learning experiences for me.The major issue that my group and I had to solve was how we were going to use all of the required pieces into our machine with the amount of work days provided. The first thing that we did to help this problem was each construct a blue print with all of the simple machines needed, design elements and so forth. After this we each exchanged these rough blueprints ad pieced together the ideas that worked the best with each other. From this point we began our work on the machine. To complete the project, we needed to construct a rough draft of a blueprint for our Rube Goldberg with all of the simple machines (etc.) included so we could begin to construct. Next we spent roughly around nine days building our machines and fine tuning all of our steps that were in it. Then we created a presentation, which included all of our calculations in it along with other details. Our last step was a formal presentation on October third for our parents, peers, and judges.
Work Log
Day one- On the first building day, my group and I worked on inserting a piece of wood for our inclined plane, and completed that step. We also completed putting another piece of wood on our board for our pulley system, and found a pulley device to use but still had no cup for our pulley system.
Day two- The second building day we continued on with our other steps and looked over our pulley, since we still did not have a cup. The next steps that we worked on were constructing a screw and putting another inclined plane on the board. We completed on this day finding a screw to use, as well as securing another inclined plane next to our pulley.
Day three- On the third day of construction a sturdy cup was found for our pulley system and we worked most of the periods to make our pulley work with a toy car acting as the weight. We also inserted a platform and inclined plane that the marble that goes through the screw can land and roll down on.
Day four- On the fourth construction my group and I built a lever for our marbles to land on. We also kept working on our pulley system and fixing details on it so it would work for our presentation.
Day five- On the fifth construction day, we added three more inclined planes for our marbles to roll across. We also began to decorate and emphasize our theme for the project, which we did by drawing pictures of our characters on our board and painting. My group and I also worked on our pulley system again.
Day six- On the sixth construction day, we continued working on our pulley system, as well as painting and decorating our board. Another step was also added, which was a nailed in wedge that our marbles would hit against and fall through an opening.
Day seven- On the seventh day of construction our pulley system was completed and worked consistently. Another step was added, which was a platform at the bottom of the board that we had the marbles roll across to finish our final step. Also, we decided on a final step which was a boulder falling on our coyote. My group and I also finished up our painting and decorating our board.
Day eight- On the eighth day of construction, my group and I added more details onto our board, such as a a cotton sheet that would catch the toy car as it fell into the pulley. We also began work on our group presentation for Rube Goldberg Night, began a final blueprint of our machine, and worked on the calculations of our machine.
Day nine- On the final building day, we made sure that all of our simple machines and design elements were shown in our Rube Goldberg Machine. We also continued to work on our slide show for our presentation, and completed a blue print that was to scale of our final product. We also made some fine tuning and adjusting to our machine by making sure that everything worked and was ready to present.
Below is a video of our Rube Goldberg Machine working. Our official work log can be found in the slide show that is in a PDF form.
Work Log
Day one- On the first building day, my group and I worked on inserting a piece of wood for our inclined plane, and completed that step. We also completed putting another piece of wood on our board for our pulley system, and found a pulley device to use but still had no cup for our pulley system.
Day two- The second building day we continued on with our other steps and looked over our pulley, since we still did not have a cup. The next steps that we worked on were constructing a screw and putting another inclined plane on the board. We completed on this day finding a screw to use, as well as securing another inclined plane next to our pulley.
Day three- On the third day of construction a sturdy cup was found for our pulley system and we worked most of the periods to make our pulley work with a toy car acting as the weight. We also inserted a platform and inclined plane that the marble that goes through the screw can land and roll down on.
Day four- On the fourth construction my group and I built a lever for our marbles to land on. We also kept working on our pulley system and fixing details on it so it would work for our presentation.
Day five- On the fifth construction day, we added three more inclined planes for our marbles to roll across. We also began to decorate and emphasize our theme for the project, which we did by drawing pictures of our characters on our board and painting. My group and I also worked on our pulley system again.
Day six- On the sixth construction day, we continued working on our pulley system, as well as painting and decorating our board. Another step was also added, which was a nailed in wedge that our marbles would hit against and fall through an opening.
Day seven- On the seventh day of construction our pulley system was completed and worked consistently. Another step was added, which was a platform at the bottom of the board that we had the marbles roll across to finish our final step. Also, we decided on a final step which was a boulder falling on our coyote. My group and I also finished up our painting and decorating our board.
Day eight- On the eighth day of construction, my group and I added more details onto our board, such as a a cotton sheet that would catch the toy car as it fell into the pulley. We also began work on our group presentation for Rube Goldberg Night, began a final blueprint of our machine, and worked on the calculations of our machine.
Day nine- On the final building day, we made sure that all of our simple machines and design elements were shown in our Rube Goldberg Machine. We also continued to work on our slide show for our presentation, and completed a blue print that was to scale of our final product. We also made some fine tuning and adjusting to our machine by making sure that everything worked and was ready to present.
Below is a video of our Rube Goldberg Machine working. Our official work log can be found in the slide show that is in a PDF form.
Our Steps
1. A wedge is released
2. A toy car moves down an inclined plane
3. The toy car falls into the pulley and the weight of the car moves the piece of wood making the marble roll
4. The marble goes down the screw and the marble comes out of the other end of the screw
5. The marble rolls down a set of inclined planes
6. The marble hits another marble on an inclined plane
7. The marble hits the lever
8. All of the marbles fall down another set of inclined planes
9. A piece of wood makes the marbles fall through a gap when the hit against it
10. The marble hit the boulder and the boulder falls onto the paper cut out of the coyote
Our final product was a functioning Rube Goldberg Machine with a unified theme. It included five simple machines that were a wedge, pulley, screw, inclined plane, and lever. We also incorporated three principals of design which were contrast, unity, and rhythm. Contrast was used with different colors of paint, such as black and purple, so that the parts to our machine stood out more clearly. The second principal of design we also added was unity, we used this by having an overall theme throughout the project, which was Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The third principal of design we used was rhythm which meant that we constructed our machine so that it would have a satisfying sound consistently. The main features of our product/work were the pulley, screw, and the boulder at the end. The pulley was one of the main features of the machine because it had a lot of intricate details and was hard to complete, but when it finally did work the results were always consistent. The second main feature is the screw, and this simple machine is a main feature because it is usually the first part of the machine that catches the eye and it is very smooth when the marble goes in. The third main feature in our machine was the boulder at the end, and this was important because it was part of our final step in which the coyote loses. We presented our Rube Goldberg Machine in a slide show presentation which had details about our project such as calculations, energy transfers, and so on. Below is a copy of our final presentation.
To Better Understand
Velocity- Velocity is the rate of covered distance in a specific direction. The unit for velocity is meters per second and that is represented in an equation as m/s. When the marble falls out of the screw and rolls down the ramp it’s velocity is .48 m/s.
Acceleration- Acceleration is the rate of change in velocity if it is speeding up or slowing down, and the unit for acceleration is meters per second squared (m/s2). The inclined planes provide acceleration to the marbles by making them move faster or slower.
Mass- Mass is the amount of matter ( the number and size of atoms) of a object and the unit for kilograms (kg). The mass of the car used in step 2 and 3 was .55 kg.
Force- The force is the push or pull on an object the most common unit for force is newtons (N), but in a nutshell newtons stands for kilograms multiplied by meters over seconds squared. For example in step one, the force of the toy car is .0093 N.
Work- Work is the amount of energy put on something, and is shown in the unit of Joules (J). When the marble hits the boulder in the last step it gives off some amount of work.
Potential Energy- Potential energy is the energy an object has due to it's position at a height or in a gravitational field. Potential energy is also represented as Joules (J). When the toy car is about to fall into the cup in the pulley, it has potential energy which was .0042 J.
Kinetic Energy- Kinetic energy is energy due to motion. Kinetic energy is represented as Joules (J). For example in step 4 when the marble rolls down the screw it has a kinetic energy value of .03 J.
Mechanical Advantage (real)- Real mechanical advantage is how much easier (less force) a tool makes a task. This includes all of the common factors such as thermal heat an friction. There are no units for mechanical advantage real, but it is instead shown as a ratio of times further over times easier. The mechanical advantage in step seven when the marble hits the lever is 0.4.
Time- Time is the progress of events. There is no equation to calculate time in physics, but it is represented at seconds (s). The whole machine took approximately 7 s to run completely through.
Distance- Distance is how far something has traveled. There is no equation to calculate distance in physics, but it is represented at meters (m). The distance the marbles had to travel was about 1.2 m or 4 feet.
Reflection
This past month has brought on many learning experiences for me, as well as opening my mind up to new ideas. One thing that I feel I did well in this project was being a strong leader. I showed leadership by helping my group stay on task and encouraging them to do their best. A specific example of leadership from me was on the first day when nobody really knew each other or our strengths, so I sort of took charge of the situation and broke the ice by bringing up my idea for the machine's theme and asking others what theirs were. Another thing that I feel that I improved upon was empathy during this project. I feel that I improved on empathy by not discouraging others when something went wrong or not as planned. For example one day some members of my group could not get a specific step to work, and I could see they were frustrated so I asked if everything was alright and we figured out together what needed work. Two things that my group and I improved on together was time management and collaboration. I feel that we all improved on these areas because at the start of the project we were all very intimidated and new to working together, but by the end everybody was not working as just four separate people but we were all working as one. We also improved on time management, because it was a very strict deadline that we needed to stick with and I feel that we all did a very good job with staying on top of what needed to be done.
Although I have learned new skills in this experience, there is always room to improve with other skills. One thing that I need to work on is to let other people take more charge of a project. While I feel as though I did well in leadership in this project, I also feel that I should have given other people the chance to take this role. Knowing this, the next time that I am in a group project I will still do my part with leadership but instead let other people have the chance to learn this skill. Another thing that I still need to work on is communicating ideas to my team mates. This was an issue in our project when I had an idea for another simple machine step, but it was hard to try and get everyone in my group to understand what I was talking about. In the future I will be more clear about my ideas so that my group can acknowledge my thoughts and understand my reasons.
All in all, this project was a huge success in my eyes! Group work is a challenging experience, and it can be tough at times, but in the end everything pays off. The skills that I am learning now from group work will truly help me in the long run of life and my future schooling.