Overview
In my group's RubeGoldBerg project our theme was The Coyote and the Road runner. In the first step of the project we had a wedge that was blocking the car that goes down the inclined plane. In Step 2 of our project after the car falls off the inclined plane into our pulley which when the car fell down and the cup went down with it. The cup on the opposite side went up, pulling the piece of the string up. Which pulled the wooden plank up. Then that leads into our third step. The third step is when the plank gets pulled up and the marble rolls down it into the screw. The fourth step is the marble falling down the screw. The fifth step of our project is when the ball falls out of the screw and rolls down another longer inclined plane. Then the sixth step was when the the metal marble hit the glass marble and made it go forward. Then in Step 7 the glass marble fell down onto a lever which had a smaller metal marble on the other end which caused all of them too fall into our next step. In Step 8 those marbles fall down another inclined plane and a flat surface. After step 8 the marbles are stopped by a slanted block of wood which is the beginning of step 9 and then the marbles fall down it and that's the end of step 9. In Step 10 whatever marble gets to the boulder(doll head) knocks it over and crushes the coyote
What I did
I contributed a lot in to making this project work and go well. When my group and I were brainstorming I suggested the idea of looney tunes which the coyote and the road runner are apart of and then one of my other group members said we should do the coyote and the road runner. When we were making the blue prints for our group's design, I helped in deciding where certain things would go in order for our project to work well. I decided where thing should be placed before they were drilled in or hammered in. Also I helped paint a tiny bit. I painted the sides of the blocks' purple. Also I helped with getting the project to actually work. For our pulley for example my group couldn't find an object small and heavy enough to pull up the Blok. Then I suggested that we should use the toy car and it worked. After the building was done I had to do all of the physics calculations for my group. I had to measure the weight of all the marbles and the car. Then during our presentation I described the physics of our machine to the groups of people that came by.
Simple Machines
These are the simple machines that we used in our Rube Goldberg project. The wedge was used in step 1 to separate the car from going down the ramp. The inclined plane was used in multiple steps in our project. Like in Step 1. A lever was used in our project in step 7. A screw was used in our project in step 4. A pulley was used in our project in when the car fell down into cup which went down and pulled the string that was attached to a block of wood up.
Wedge-used to separate two objects or portions of an object
|
Pulley-A machine consisting of a wheel over which a pulled rope or chain runs to change the direction of the pull used for lifting a load.
|
Inclined plane-a plane inclined at an angle to the horizontal.
Lever-a plane inclined at an angle to the horizontal.
Screw-inclined-plane type consisting of a spirally threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded hole.
Physics and Energy Transfers
Energy Transfers
In our project we had to calculate the physics of each step in our Rube Goldberg machine. We also had to find the energy transfers in our project. First, I'll start with the energy transfers in our project. The first energy transfer in our project is in step 2 with the pulley. When the car falls into the cup, which is a part of of the pulley. The cup goes down and the string goes down with it. Then the string attached to the block of wood pulls up which causes the ball go down the ramp. The next energy transfer in the project is in step 6 when the metal marble hits the glass marble which transfers the kinetic energy from the metal marble to the glass marble. The very next step in our project is the next energy transfer. In step 7 the energy transfer is when the glass marble falls down onto the left side of the lever and since it is heavier than the small metal marble both marbles fall down the lever. The final energy transfer in our project is when the glass marble hits the boulder and that is a transfer of kinetic energy.
Physics
Here are the physics my group and I used in our Rube Goldberg Machine. We used these physics to calculate each step to make sure we didn't have too much force, or have the ball moving too fast. m=mass g=gravity (9.8m/s²) h= height in meters. t= time d=distance (in meters)
Kinetic Energy- is the energy of movement and the equation for this is 1/2mv². The unit for kinetic energy is joules or J
Potential Energy- is the energy an object possesses by virtue of its position. The equation is mgh. The unit is the same as kinetic energy.
Velocity- the speed of something in a general direction. The equation is change d/change t. The unit for velocity is m/s.
Acceleration- is the increase of the rate of speed of an object. The equation for this is v/t. The unit for acceleration is m/s².
Force- is the objects acceleration multiplied by its mass. So, the equation is F=ma. The unit for Force is Newtons or N.
Real Mechanical Advantage- is how much easier it makes a task. The equation for MAreal is Fload/Feffort. There is no unit for this.
Work- amount of energy put into something. The equation for work is W=Fd. The unit for work is joules or J.
In our project we had to calculate the physics of each step in our Rube Goldberg machine. We also had to find the energy transfers in our project. First, I'll start with the energy transfers in our project. The first energy transfer in our project is in step 2 with the pulley. When the car falls into the cup, which is a part of of the pulley. The cup goes down and the string goes down with it. Then the string attached to the block of wood pulls up which causes the ball go down the ramp. The next energy transfer in the project is in step 6 when the metal marble hits the glass marble which transfers the kinetic energy from the metal marble to the glass marble. The very next step in our project is the next energy transfer. In step 7 the energy transfer is when the glass marble falls down onto the left side of the lever and since it is heavier than the small metal marble both marbles fall down the lever. The final energy transfer in our project is when the glass marble hits the boulder and that is a transfer of kinetic energy.
Physics
Here are the physics my group and I used in our Rube Goldberg Machine. We used these physics to calculate each step to make sure we didn't have too much force, or have the ball moving too fast. m=mass g=gravity (9.8m/s²) h= height in meters. t= time d=distance (in meters)
Kinetic Energy- is the energy of movement and the equation for this is 1/2mv². The unit for kinetic energy is joules or J
Potential Energy- is the energy an object possesses by virtue of its position. The equation is mgh. The unit is the same as kinetic energy.
Velocity- the speed of something in a general direction. The equation is change d/change t. The unit for velocity is m/s.
Acceleration- is the increase of the rate of speed of an object. The equation for this is v/t. The unit for acceleration is m/s².
Force- is the objects acceleration multiplied by its mass. So, the equation is F=ma. The unit for Force is Newtons or N.
Real Mechanical Advantage- is how much easier it makes a task. The equation for MAreal is Fload/Feffort. There is no unit for this.
Work- amount of energy put into something. The equation for work is W=Fd. The unit for work is joules or J.
Reflection
Looking back at the beginning of the project when our group first started the project. I was kind of shy. I didn't speak that much unless I needed to tell my group something about the project. Also at the beginning of the project I was just doing my own little thing not really helping the group overall. I also had a little trouble understanding the physics at the beginning of the project and school year. But as the we progressed in the project and built some more I got to know my team mates better and started talking with them and helping the group with everybody else. I said earlier in this reflection that I was shy so that effected my leadership grade in the class. But as the project went on, I got better at leadership in my group. The quote that I put under the title really relates to me and my group. I didn't just feel change inside me. I saw my teammates changing in a good way too. So, by building that machine it helped not just change me, but my group too for the better.