A Step-by-Step Description of Our Rube Goldberg Machine
A Rube Goldberg machine is a mechanical device used to achieve a simple task through a series of complex steps. In STEM my group and I over a 2 week period built our machine. Through many steps including a screw and a volcano, the final product was to hit a bell. Our first step was a green glass marble rolling down an incline plane. The marble then rolled into a lever, the force of the marble caused the lever to swing down and pop a balloon. A small glass marble was inside of the balloon so when the balloon popped the small marble continued down another incline plane while the big green glass marble slid on the lever and landed in a red cup. After the small marble gets released from the balloon it falls onto the ramp hits the wooden wedges we put on the plane to slow it down. After this step, the small marble goes down a gray screw. this screw is attached through the board and winds around. We put another small marble at the base of the screw, so that when the small marble hits it they will both come out of the screw and cause double the force. Then the two marbles go down another inclined plane, we attached screws so that the two marbles would be slower so our audience could have the first part of the machine sink in. Then at the end of the inclined plane there was a heavy metal marble, this marble started moving because of the force and momentum of the other two. The three marbles then hit a weight that was seated on the edge of the plane therefore causing the weight to fall off the plane. This was attached to a pulley system. The other end of the string was attached to a cup of vinegar. The cup of vinegar was tipped when the weight fell down causing the vinegar to fall into the funnel. The funnel lead into a volcano which had a few teaspoons of baking soda in it. This combination caused an explosion of sorts. The fizzing from the small explosion spilled over and fell into the big red funnel. This big red funnel was over a foam white cup. This white cup was attached to a lever, the other end of the lever was attached to train tracks. Therefore, when enough of the liquid fell into the cup the train track (with a train resting on it) tilted enough for the train to roll down the tracks and finally hit the bell.
A Rube Goldberg machine is a mechanical device used to achieve a simple task through a series of complex steps. In STEM my group and I over a 2 week period built our machine. Through many steps including a screw and a volcano, the final product was to hit a bell. Our first step was a green glass marble rolling down an incline plane. The marble then rolled into a lever, the force of the marble caused the lever to swing down and pop a balloon. A small glass marble was inside of the balloon so when the balloon popped the small marble continued down another incline plane while the big green glass marble slid on the lever and landed in a red cup. After the small marble gets released from the balloon it falls onto the ramp hits the wooden wedges we put on the plane to slow it down. After this step, the small marble goes down a gray screw. this screw is attached through the board and winds around. We put another small marble at the base of the screw, so that when the small marble hits it they will both come out of the screw and cause double the force. Then the two marbles go down another inclined plane, we attached screws so that the two marbles would be slower so our audience could have the first part of the machine sink in. Then at the end of the inclined plane there was a heavy metal marble, this marble started moving because of the force and momentum of the other two. The three marbles then hit a weight that was seated on the edge of the plane therefore causing the weight to fall off the plane. This was attached to a pulley system. The other end of the string was attached to a cup of vinegar. The cup of vinegar was tipped when the weight fell down causing the vinegar to fall into the funnel. The funnel lead into a volcano which had a few teaspoons of baking soda in it. This combination caused an explosion of sorts. The fizzing from the small explosion spilled over and fell into the big red funnel. This big red funnel was over a foam white cup. This white cup was attached to a lever, the other end of the lever was attached to train tracks. Therefore, when enough of the liquid fell into the cup the train track (with a train resting on it) tilted enough for the train to roll down the tracks and finally hit the bell.
Please enjoy the video below of our machine working.
Terms We Used While Making Our Project
Momentum- momentum is the tendency of moving objects to keep moving, momentum is calculated by multiplying mass and velocity.
Kinetic Energy- kinetic energy is how much energy and object because of motion. We calculated the kinetic energy of the ball at the end of the fist inclined plane to be 0.081 J.
Potential Energy- potential energy is how much energy something has at the starting point.
Mass- mass is the amount of matter in an object. The mass of our train was 55 grams.
Force- the push or pull on an object, something that causes a change in motion. We calculated the force of the baking soda and vinegar mixture hitting the cup to be .269 N.
Joule- the unit of work or energy. We used Joules a lot during our project calculating energy transfers and the work some object was doing on something else.
Newton- the unit for force. We used this unit while calculating force of the vinegar and baking soda mixture hitting the bottom of the cup.
Mechanical Advantage- how much easier a tool makes something. We calculated the mechanical advantage of our first inclined plane to be 5.3.
Velocity- the rate of a covered distance in a direction. We calculated the velocity of the big green glass marble hitting the wooden lever to be .9 m/s.
Momentum- momentum is the tendency of moving objects to keep moving, momentum is calculated by multiplying mass and velocity.
Kinetic Energy- kinetic energy is how much energy and object because of motion. We calculated the kinetic energy of the ball at the end of the fist inclined plane to be 0.081 J.
Potential Energy- potential energy is how much energy something has at the starting point.
Mass- mass is the amount of matter in an object. The mass of our train was 55 grams.
Force- the push or pull on an object, something that causes a change in motion. We calculated the force of the baking soda and vinegar mixture hitting the cup to be .269 N.
Joule- the unit of work or energy. We used Joules a lot during our project calculating energy transfers and the work some object was doing on something else.
Newton- the unit for force. We used this unit while calculating force of the vinegar and baking soda mixture hitting the bottom of the cup.
Mechanical Advantage- how much easier a tool makes something. We calculated the mechanical advantage of our first inclined plane to be 5.3.
Velocity- the rate of a covered distance in a direction. We calculated the velocity of the big green glass marble hitting the wooden lever to be .9 m/s.
Here is the fist page of calculations:
Here is the final page of our calculations:
Pictures of the Building Process
Attaching wooden supports to the back of our board: |
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Attaching first incline plane, lever with blades to cut balloon, and the cup the green marble falls into:
Attaching second incline plane and placing balloon:
Drilling holes into the board and putting our screw in:
Attaching screws to make maze, placing marble to push over the weight, and attaching the cup to catch weight:
Our finished product:
Reflection: