During the building of our Rube Goldberg Project, we made a multi-stepped machine that helped us understand physics and engineering much more clearly and visually. A Rube Goldberg Machine is a contraption made that is deliberatly over-engineered to perform a simple every day task. On ours, that task was dunking a cookie in milk. Instead of the simple way of just using your arms and hands to dip the cookie in the milk, our machine started off with a marble going down a ramp, and after a lot of steps, dunking the cookie in a cup (attached to a pulley) with the help of a wheel and axle. As one can tell, a bunch of steps weren't needed but it sure made it a lot more entertaining.
Over the course of 15 days, we were able to make our machine using our time well. The first 3 days were planning days. We thought about our theme and decided on a goal for our board. Once we did this, we made an initial blueprint to work off once we started building. Then, we had 9 days to build. We spent the first couple of days cutting wood and screwing the wood to our board. Then we spent the rest of our time putting on the other parts and making everything work. Over this time our blueprint changed a lot because things we initially were going to do didn't work out as we expected. The last few days were mainly to touch up little issues and add our theme. We decorated the board with some paper cookies and step descriptions to show our theme in each part of the board.
INITIAL BLUEPRINT FINAL BLUEPRINT
Over the course of 15 days, we were able to make our machine using our time well. The first 3 days were planning days. We thought about our theme and decided on a goal for our board. Once we did this, we made an initial blueprint to work off once we started building. Then, we had 9 days to build. We spent the first couple of days cutting wood and screwing the wood to our board. Then we spent the rest of our time putting on the other parts and making everything work. Over this time our blueprint changed a lot because things we initially were going to do didn't work out as we expected. The last few days were mainly to touch up little issues and add our theme. We decorated the board with some paper cookies and step descriptions to show our theme in each part of the board.
INITIAL BLUEPRINT FINAL BLUEPRINT
Terms and Concepts Used:
Force: The push or pull on an object. It causes a change in motion. An example of force is our car hitting the two marbles. (F=MA) Its unit is N=kgm/s squared. Mechanical Advantage: How much easier a tool makes something (easier= less force). (Real Mechanical Advantage= Force of load divided by the Force of effort.) (Ideal Mechanical Advantage= Distance of effort divided by the distance of load.) Ideal MA compared to Real MA means for Ideal, things like outside forces (friction, wind, dust, etc.) are not included in the equation while in Real MA, all outside forces are thought about and included. Pulley made moving cup easier. Velocity: The rate of covered distance in one direction. The equation is V=change in distance/change in time. The units for velocity are m/s. Our marbles moving from one end of a board to the other showed velocity. Work: The amount of energy that is put into something in an effort to move it. The equation is W=(Force)(Distance). The units for work are measured in Joules. If two objects are pushed up two different slopes with the same ending height, the work for both is the same. Same height=Same work. The last marble hitting the cookie required lots of work to work correctly. Gravitational Potential Energy: The energy an object has due to its position at a height in a gravitational field. The equation is PEg=(mass)(gravitational pull)(height). Its unit of measurement is Joules. The car before it went down the ramp. Kinetic Energy: The energy due to motion. Ex. A ball in the process of dropping. KE=1/2(mass)(velocity) squared. It is measured in Joules. The car in motion. Momentum(p): The tendency of objects to keep moving (how hard it would be to stop). The equation is p=(mass)(velocity). Measured in kgm/s. The momentum of each domino hitting the next. Speed: A rather simple concept, the rate of distance covered. The equation is S=|change in distance|/ change in time. Units are m/s. The speed of every marble made a difference in the next piece it hit. Acceleration: The change in velocity (speeding up or slowing down). Equation is a=change in velocity/change in time. Measured in m/s squared. The pulley accelerated once the marble was in the cup. |
PHYSICS OF EACH PART
|
Reflection:
Over the course of our Rube Goldberg Project, I learned so much more about not only physics and engineering, but the principles of design. Looking back at our project I think our team did a very good job and we now have something we can tell friends and family about. As an individual, I feel I really improved in team work. This project was not something I could have done alone because someone needs to hold the board as another screws. It was all a team effort and my team worked really hard to make it happen. I also know so many new skills now, from simple things like drilling to using a power saw. In the future and now these skills will really benefit my life. At the end of this project, I am happy to say that our group definitely has something to be proud of, and I have a lot of new skills I didn't know I would ever have.
Although I thought this project went really well, I do think there are a few improvements I will think about for my next project. One thing I need to understand better was the physics of the board. Yes, I understood the idea of each physics equation used for each part. But actually plugging in numbers and explaining the numbers in relation to the board was a bit more complicated. I believe that over there course of this year, my knowledge and understanding will really improve. Another important key is management. Although we did finish the project on time with fully completing it, I do think if we had used our team better, our project could be a lot more professional and a lot cooler. But, our project did still turn out really cool and our time was limited to only 9 days of building. I do understand now for future projects that it is not as much as we perceive. If we had managed our time a bit better we probably could have angled boards differently to make things work smoother and we could have created better pieces like our wheel and axle.
Overall, I feel our team did an amazing job and I found the project really enjoyable and a fun challenge.
Over the course of our Rube Goldberg Project, I learned so much more about not only physics and engineering, but the principles of design. Looking back at our project I think our team did a very good job and we now have something we can tell friends and family about. As an individual, I feel I really improved in team work. This project was not something I could have done alone because someone needs to hold the board as another screws. It was all a team effort and my team worked really hard to make it happen. I also know so many new skills now, from simple things like drilling to using a power saw. In the future and now these skills will really benefit my life. At the end of this project, I am happy to say that our group definitely has something to be proud of, and I have a lot of new skills I didn't know I would ever have.
Although I thought this project went really well, I do think there are a few improvements I will think about for my next project. One thing I need to understand better was the physics of the board. Yes, I understood the idea of each physics equation used for each part. But actually plugging in numbers and explaining the numbers in relation to the board was a bit more complicated. I believe that over there course of this year, my knowledge and understanding will really improve. Another important key is management. Although we did finish the project on time with fully completing it, I do think if we had used our team better, our project could be a lot more professional and a lot cooler. But, our project did still turn out really cool and our time was limited to only 9 days of building. I do understand now for future projects that it is not as much as we perceive. If we had managed our time a bit better we probably could have angled boards differently to make things work smoother and we could have created better pieces like our wheel and axle.
Overall, I feel our team did an amazing job and I found the project really enjoyable and a fun challenge.