This is my Rube Goldberg that me and my group have been working on for the past fourteen days. My group included Spencer Shifs, Ryan Tavenner and Simon Swetland. Our Rube Goldberg has two end goals. The first end goal was to deliver a whoopee cushion onto a chair as a prank for an unsuspecting person. Our second end goal was to make two metal pipes clang against each other making a bell like sound. In our machine, we were required to include and/or calculate 10 steps, 4 energy transfers, and 5 simple machines. All of which, we have completed for our machine.
Force: the push or pull exerted on an object. Force is calculated by multiplying mass and acceleration of gravity (mass x 9.8 m/s^2). (calculated in steps 2, 7, and 10 of our Rube Goldberg)
Mechanical advantage: the advantage of force given by the machine. (calculated in steps 1, 4, and 5 of our Rube Goldberg)
-Ideal mechanical advantage is calculated by dividing the input distance over the output distance.
-Real mechanical advantage is calculated by dividing the output force over the input force.
Potential energy: stored energy in an object (it has the potential to become kinetic). It is calculated by multiplying the mass of the object, the height that the object is at, and the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2)
Kinetic Energy: energy in motion. Ex: when something is falling or in any kind of motion, its energy is kinetic. It is calculated by multiplying 1/2 of the object's mass and the velocity squared that the object is falling at.
Work: using a force to move an object a distance. It is calculated by multiplying the force of the object and the distance it traveled..
Speed: how fast an object is moving. It is calculated by dividing distance over time.
Velocity: how fast an object is going along with the direction it is moving. It is calculated by dividing the change in distance over the change in time. (calculated in step 8 of our Rube Goldberg)
Acceleration: the rate of change of velocity. It is calculated by dividing the change in velocity over the change in time.
Impulse: the force that you are exerting on and object and how long you are exerting it for. It is calculated by multiplying force and time. (calculated in step 6 of our Rube Goldberg)
Momentum: the tendency of an object to continue moving. It is calculated by multiplying mass time velocity.
Energy: the ability to do work. It is calculated by solving either of the equations that i stated in the definitions for kinetic and potential energy. (calculated in steps 9 and 3)
Another concept that I learned and that was integrated into my project was using drills and saws. Throughout the project, it was absolutely necessary to use both of those things. After this project, I feel very comfortable with using drills and saws.
Learning the physics helped us very much while making our project. An example of this was when we had to figure out how much force was required to activate the pulley system. We used force in this instance, as well as mechanical advantage.
-the steps of my Rube Goldberg are further described in my power point presentation but are also briefly shown in the schematic below.
Here is my power point:
Force: the push or pull exerted on an object. Force is calculated by multiplying mass and acceleration of gravity (mass x 9.8 m/s^2). (calculated in steps 2, 7, and 10 of our Rube Goldberg)
Mechanical advantage: the advantage of force given by the machine. (calculated in steps 1, 4, and 5 of our Rube Goldberg)
-Ideal mechanical advantage is calculated by dividing the input distance over the output distance.
-Real mechanical advantage is calculated by dividing the output force over the input force.
Potential energy: stored energy in an object (it has the potential to become kinetic). It is calculated by multiplying the mass of the object, the height that the object is at, and the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2)
Kinetic Energy: energy in motion. Ex: when something is falling or in any kind of motion, its energy is kinetic. It is calculated by multiplying 1/2 of the object's mass and the velocity squared that the object is falling at.
Work: using a force to move an object a distance. It is calculated by multiplying the force of the object and the distance it traveled..
Speed: how fast an object is moving. It is calculated by dividing distance over time.
Velocity: how fast an object is going along with the direction it is moving. It is calculated by dividing the change in distance over the change in time. (calculated in step 8 of our Rube Goldberg)
Acceleration: the rate of change of velocity. It is calculated by dividing the change in velocity over the change in time.
Impulse: the force that you are exerting on and object and how long you are exerting it for. It is calculated by multiplying force and time. (calculated in step 6 of our Rube Goldberg)
Momentum: the tendency of an object to continue moving. It is calculated by multiplying mass time velocity.
Energy: the ability to do work. It is calculated by solving either of the equations that i stated in the definitions for kinetic and potential energy. (calculated in steps 9 and 3)
Another concept that I learned and that was integrated into my project was using drills and saws. Throughout the project, it was absolutely necessary to use both of those things. After this project, I feel very comfortable with using drills and saws.
Learning the physics helped us very much while making our project. An example of this was when we had to figure out how much force was required to activate the pulley system. We used force in this instance, as well as mechanical advantage.
-the steps of my Rube Goldberg are further described in my power point presentation but are also briefly shown in the schematic below.
Here is my power point:
rube_goldberg_pesentation.pptx | |
File Size: | 1898 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
In my opinion, our project went pretty well, but everything has it's pits and it's peaks. Two peaks of our project were learning how to problem solve and learning how to concentrate and work successfully with a group. Two pits of our project were having arguments among group members and being at a loss for our end goal of the machine.
Our first peak was learning how to problem solve. Learning how to problem solve was a very essential part of the building and presenting process in our Rube Goldberg. My group and I, of course, learned how to problem solve along the way as we ran into problems while building. For example, we ran into the problem of not being able to activate the pulley system at the right time. To solve this problem, we tied one end of the pulley system to a block of wood which stayed there until it was knocked off a platform by a marble. This weight then activated the pulley system. This was a big achievement for our group.
Our second peak was learning how to concentrate and work successfully with a group. This was another essential thing to learn because in this project we all had to work in groups. I had never really done such a complex project that had required so much effort and work before, especially while being in a group. This being new to me, I had to learn how to work with people who have very different personalities than myself. For example, some members of my group and I would often disagree on how to do something in our project. In order to solve this, we would usually come to a compromise that included both of our ideas and opinions. This was a great learning experience for me of how to work with different people.
Our first pit of our project partially has to do with the second peak of our project. This is that sometimes my group members and i would argue about what to do with different parts of the project. For example, at one point in the project, one of my group member's disagreed on the asthetics of one part of the project but I disagreed with his idea. We ended up compromising and doing something else but it wasn't easy. This is definitely something that I could've done better.
The second pit of our project was being at a loss for and end goal of our machine. When we were about half way through our project, we realized that our original idea for our end goal wasn't going to work. After this, we started to brainstorm ideas about what we should do. Once we came up with the idea of delivering a whoopee cushion onto a chair and clanging two metal pipes together to make a bell-like sound, we were back on our way. Something that we could have done better in this aspect was planning ahead and staying set on our way. This would have helped us avoid our last minute rush and decision.
Working through our pits, and learning from our peaks, provided my group and I with a great learning experience. I also had a great time learning things about tools and many physics concepts. In the end, our project was a success, which made it all worth while.
Our first peak was learning how to problem solve. Learning how to problem solve was a very essential part of the building and presenting process in our Rube Goldberg. My group and I, of course, learned how to problem solve along the way as we ran into problems while building. For example, we ran into the problem of not being able to activate the pulley system at the right time. To solve this problem, we tied one end of the pulley system to a block of wood which stayed there until it was knocked off a platform by a marble. This weight then activated the pulley system. This was a big achievement for our group.
Our second peak was learning how to concentrate and work successfully with a group. This was another essential thing to learn because in this project we all had to work in groups. I had never really done such a complex project that had required so much effort and work before, especially while being in a group. This being new to me, I had to learn how to work with people who have very different personalities than myself. For example, some members of my group and I would often disagree on how to do something in our project. In order to solve this, we would usually come to a compromise that included both of our ideas and opinions. This was a great learning experience for me of how to work with different people.
Our first pit of our project partially has to do with the second peak of our project. This is that sometimes my group members and i would argue about what to do with different parts of the project. For example, at one point in the project, one of my group member's disagreed on the asthetics of one part of the project but I disagreed with his idea. We ended up compromising and doing something else but it wasn't easy. This is definitely something that I could've done better.
The second pit of our project was being at a loss for and end goal of our machine. When we were about half way through our project, we realized that our original idea for our end goal wasn't going to work. After this, we started to brainstorm ideas about what we should do. Once we came up with the idea of delivering a whoopee cushion onto a chair and clanging two metal pipes together to make a bell-like sound, we were back on our way. Something that we could have done better in this aspect was planning ahead and staying set on our way. This would have helped us avoid our last minute rush and decision.
Working through our pits, and learning from our peaks, provided my group and I with a great learning experience. I also had a great time learning things about tools and many physics concepts. In the end, our project was a success, which made it all worth while.