About
Who is Rube Goldberg and What is a Rube Goldberg Machine?Rube Goldberg was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist best known for his zany invention cartoons. He was born in San Francisco on the 4th of July, 1883 and graduated from U.C Berkeley with a degree in engineering. A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that uses a chain reaction to accomplish a very simple task in a complicated way.
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ThemeThe theme of our Rube Goldberg machine was historical events. Some events our group chose were important, and others we just wanted to include. The series of events (in order of theme) was, the extinction of the dinosaurs, time gap between then and the ice age, the ice age, cavemen, ancient Greece, the renaissance, titanic, Walt Disney, civil rights, and finally the warriors NBA championship in 2017.
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How it works:
Step 1: The "Comet" rolls down the ramp ( representing dinosaurs )
Step 2: The ball goes down another ramp and falls into a cup
Step 3: A piece of wood is lifted on the pulley system and lifts another piece of wood with a marble on it ( represented during the time gap between dinosaurs and ice age )
Step 4: The marble rolls down a platform ( representing the ice age )
Step 5: The marble rolls down a pipe ( represents the cavemen )
Step 6: The marble hits a piece of wood on another platform of wood with another marble on it ( represents ancient Greece )
Step 7: The marble goes down a ramp ( representing titanic and Walt Disney )
Step 8: Both marbles roll down a series of pieces of wood ( representing civil rights )
Step 9: Marbles go down another platform
Step 10: Marbles land in a basketball hoop as our final task ( representing the warriors NBA championship in 2017 )
Step 2: The ball goes down another ramp and falls into a cup
Step 3: A piece of wood is lifted on the pulley system and lifts another piece of wood with a marble on it ( represented during the time gap between dinosaurs and ice age )
Step 4: The marble rolls down a platform ( representing the ice age )
Step 5: The marble rolls down a pipe ( represents the cavemen )
Step 6: The marble hits a piece of wood on another platform of wood with another marble on it ( represents ancient Greece )
Step 7: The marble goes down a ramp ( representing titanic and Walt Disney )
Step 8: Both marbles roll down a series of pieces of wood ( representing civil rights )
Step 9: Marbles go down another platform
Step 10: Marbles land in a basketball hoop as our final task ( representing the warriors NBA championship in 2017 )
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Evidence of Work
Day 1: We made the first ramp/start of the machine and attached the inclined plane. Also, we were still coming up with ideas for the rest of our machine.
Day 2: We started to make the pulley system but we couldn't quite figure out how to make it work. Also, we added on a flat piece of wood and considered the idea of putting a tube in the shape of a screw and how to connect it to the board.
Day 3: We drilled large holes in the board that we could put the tube through so it could leave the tube and hit the lever. We made good progress. Also, by that point we had about three simple machines.
Day 4: We put down a wood block and we put a notch in it to make sure the ball stayed still. Also, we made it so the lever hit another ball then it rolls down an inclined plane.
Day 5: We updated our blueprint and touched up some things on the board. We spent a good chunk of the day discussing whether or not to change the theme of our board. We ended up not changing it.
Day 6: We used this day to adjust the different parts to work so that we could make sure the machine worked well.
Day 7: We put a ramp and another piece of wood towards the end and worked on some of the decorations.
Day 8: We put up four small blocks of wood for the marble to bounce off of, and a ramp.
Day 9: We put up a small funnel for the last step, and decorated the board.
Day 2: We started to make the pulley system but we couldn't quite figure out how to make it work. Also, we added on a flat piece of wood and considered the idea of putting a tube in the shape of a screw and how to connect it to the board.
Day 3: We drilled large holes in the board that we could put the tube through so it could leave the tube and hit the lever. We made good progress. Also, by that point we had about three simple machines.
Day 4: We put down a wood block and we put a notch in it to make sure the ball stayed still. Also, we made it so the lever hit another ball then it rolls down an inclined plane.
Day 5: We updated our blueprint and touched up some things on the board. We spent a good chunk of the day discussing whether or not to change the theme of our board. We ended up not changing it.
Day 6: We used this day to adjust the different parts to work so that we could make sure the machine worked well.
Day 7: We put a ramp and another piece of wood towards the end and worked on some of the decorations.
Day 8: We put up four small blocks of wood for the marble to bounce off of, and a ramp.
Day 9: We put up a small funnel for the last step, and decorated the board.
Understanding the Words
Velocity: The rate of distance that is covered in a certain direction. It is measured in meters per second (m/s).
Mass: The amount of matter and the size and weight of atoms. It is measured in kilograms (kg).
Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity either accelerating or decelerating. It is described in Newton's Second Law, and it is measured in meters per second squared (m/s sq.)
Force: A push or pull on/of an object. It is measured in Newtons (N).
Potential Energy: The energy an object has due to it's position, usually in height. It is measured in joules (J).
Kinetic Energy: It is the energy due to motion. It is also measured in joules (J).
Mechanical Advantage: It is how much energy used when using a tool.
Time: The progress in which events happen. It is measured in time (t).
Distance: How far something has traveled. It is measured in meters (m).
Mass: The amount of matter and the size and weight of atoms. It is measured in kilograms (kg).
Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity either accelerating or decelerating. It is described in Newton's Second Law, and it is measured in meters per second squared (m/s sq.)
Force: A push or pull on/of an object. It is measured in Newtons (N).
Potential Energy: The energy an object has due to it's position, usually in height. It is measured in joules (J).
Kinetic Energy: It is the energy due to motion. It is also measured in joules (J).
Mechanical Advantage: It is how much energy used when using a tool.
Time: The progress in which events happen. It is measured in time (t).
Distance: How far something has traveled. It is measured in meters (m).
Reflection
During the three weeks of working on our Rube Goldberg machine I was pretty nervous because it was my first project in STEM, but when I got to know my teammates I realized there was nothing to be nervous about. I contributed a lot of ideas that helped with where everything would go, and I tried to help everyone as much as I could. In the beginning I wasn't the best with collaboration, but after the first group collaboration I feel like I did a lot better. I also tried to be as empathetic as possible so if someone lost something or if something was out of place I wouldn't get mad at them, but instead I would help them figure out what to do.
The first couple days I worked super hard and got as much done as I could, but during some of the days it was a lot weaker than I would've hoped. I got off track for some of the building day and worked a lot less than the first couple days, but when it was brought to my attention the last couple days we had I worked harder than before. I was confident from the start to the finish when presenting and I helped my other group members try to be less nervous with their parts and Rube Goldberg night was a success in my eyes.
The first couple days I worked super hard and got as much done as I could, but during some of the days it was a lot weaker than I would've hoped. I got off track for some of the building day and worked a lot less than the first couple days, but when it was brought to my attention the last couple days we had I worked harder than before. I was confident from the start to the finish when presenting and I helped my other group members try to be less nervous with their parts and Rube Goldberg night was a success in my eyes.