Rube Goldberg Project
For our first project in stem, we built a Rube Goldberg Machine. The ending result of our machine was to pop a balloon.
Steps and Calculations
Step 1: Dominoes hit the soccer ball
In step 1, the dominoes hit the soccer ball with a force of 0.7252 newtons.
Step 2: First inclined plane
In step 2, the soccer ball rolls down our first simple machine, called an inclined plane. The soccer ball has an acceleration of 0.47 meters per second.
Step 3: Second inclined plane
In step 3, the soccer ball rebounds off the wall and rolls down the second inclined plane. the soccer ball rolls down with an even faster acceleration of 0.6117 meters per second.
Step 4: First lever
In step 4, the soccer ball hits one side of a lever with a force of 0.0132 newtons. Then it rolls into its holder.
Step 5: Lever hits marble
In step 5, the lever hits the marble with the same force of 0.0132 newtons. This is a first class lever.
Step 6: Third inclined plane
In step 6, the marble rolls down our third inclined plane. The marble has an acceleration of 0.57 meters per second.
Step 7: Pulley system
In step 7, the marble rolls into the cup that activates our pulley system. This pulley system has a mechanical advantage of 1, since there is one pulley and also one string.
Step 8: Second lever
In step 8, the cup hits the lever with a force of 0.014 newtons. Then, another marble rolls down the lever, toward the tube.
Step 9: Screw
In step 9, the marble rolls into the tube, also called a screw. It rolls down with a velocity of 1.42 meters per second.
Step 10: Track
In step 10, the marble rolls out of the tube and onto a track. It has an acceleration of 1.05 meters per second.
Step 11: Marble hits stick
In step 11, the marble hits a stick with a force of 0.33 newtons. This is just enough force to knock it over. This will trigger the balloon popper.
Step 12: Balloon pops
In step 12, a balloon popper swings down and pops a balloon. This is a wedge with a mechanical advantage of 11.7.
In step 1, the dominoes hit the soccer ball with a force of 0.7252 newtons.
Step 2: First inclined plane
In step 2, the soccer ball rolls down our first simple machine, called an inclined plane. The soccer ball has an acceleration of 0.47 meters per second.
Step 3: Second inclined plane
In step 3, the soccer ball rebounds off the wall and rolls down the second inclined plane. the soccer ball rolls down with an even faster acceleration of 0.6117 meters per second.
Step 4: First lever
In step 4, the soccer ball hits one side of a lever with a force of 0.0132 newtons. Then it rolls into its holder.
Step 5: Lever hits marble
In step 5, the lever hits the marble with the same force of 0.0132 newtons. This is a first class lever.
Step 6: Third inclined plane
In step 6, the marble rolls down our third inclined plane. The marble has an acceleration of 0.57 meters per second.
Step 7: Pulley system
In step 7, the marble rolls into the cup that activates our pulley system. This pulley system has a mechanical advantage of 1, since there is one pulley and also one string.
Step 8: Second lever
In step 8, the cup hits the lever with a force of 0.014 newtons. Then, another marble rolls down the lever, toward the tube.
Step 9: Screw
In step 9, the marble rolls into the tube, also called a screw. It rolls down with a velocity of 1.42 meters per second.
Step 10: Track
In step 10, the marble rolls out of the tube and onto a track. It has an acceleration of 1.05 meters per second.
Step 11: Marble hits stick
In step 11, the marble hits a stick with a force of 0.33 newtons. This is just enough force to knock it over. This will trigger the balloon popper.
Step 12: Balloon pops
In step 12, a balloon popper swings down and pops a balloon. This is a wedge with a mechanical advantage of 11.7.
Project video
Reflection
I thought our machine was very good and creative, even though it didn't work 100% of the time. We also had some problems with our machine. For example, we had trouble getting the black marble to fall in the cup. We decided to cut a notch in the wood to keep the cup from swinging around. Another problem was the ball having enough force to hit the stick and have it fall over. We decided to make the tube steep so it would increase speed and have enough force. We also did a lot of creative things that worked well. For example, the balloon popper worked very well and it took up the extra space on our plywood. I learned a lot during this project, like how to use power tools and how to adjust things to make it the best it can possibly be. My group worked very well together and I am very happy with our final project.