Our Rube Goldberg Machine was designed to raise a flag. It used a screw, lever, wedge, inclined plane, and pulley to raise a flag in at least ten steps and four energy transfers. In the machine, a small steel marble was rolled down an inclined plane. It then rolled down a screw and collided with a larger steel marble. This marble then rolled down two inclined planes and fell into a cup attached to a pulley. The pulley lifted a wedge that released a golf ball. The golf ball rolled down a ramp and hit the largest steel marble. This marble rolled down a ramp, hit a lever, and fell into a cup, raising the "Team Laushon" flag.
Concepts Used:
Mechanical Advantage: How much easier a machine makes a task. It can be calculated in two ways: Using distances (Distance of effort divided by distance of load) or using force ( force of load divided by force of effort). The equation using distances doesn't account for friction, so it is less accurate.
Velocity: How fast and in what direction an object moves, calculated by dividing distance by time. If you want the final velocity, multiply your answer by two. Velocity is measured in meters per second.
Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion, this is measured in Joules. It is calculated by halving the object's mass, then multiplying it by the object's velocity squared.
Potential energy: How much energy an object could gain by falling to the ground. It is measured in Joules, and is calculated by multiplying the object's distance above the ground, mass, and acceleration due to gravity.
Acceleration: How much speed an object gains, usually per second. It is measured in meters per second per second (second squared) and is found by dividing the final velocity by the time. Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 meters per second squared.
Force: A push or pull on an object. Force is measured in Newtons, and is found by multiplying an object's mass by it's acceleration.
Mechanical Advantage: How much easier a machine makes a task. It can be calculated in two ways: Using distances (Distance of effort divided by distance of load) or using force ( force of load divided by force of effort). The equation using distances doesn't account for friction, so it is less accurate.
Velocity: How fast and in what direction an object moves, calculated by dividing distance by time. If you want the final velocity, multiply your answer by two. Velocity is measured in meters per second.
Kinetic Energy: Energy due to motion, this is measured in Joules. It is calculated by halving the object's mass, then multiplying it by the object's velocity squared.
Potential energy: How much energy an object could gain by falling to the ground. It is measured in Joules, and is calculated by multiplying the object's distance above the ground, mass, and acceleration due to gravity.
Acceleration: How much speed an object gains, usually per second. It is measured in meters per second per second (second squared) and is found by dividing the final velocity by the time. Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 meters per second squared.
Force: A push or pull on an object. Force is measured in Newtons, and is found by multiplying an object's mass by it's acceleration.
Reflections:
Looking back on this project, I see a few things I did well, and a few things I didn't. One thing I did well was planning. I always had something to do, and I did it well. Another good thing was my leadership. I thought Ashley was the leader of our group, but apparently I lead pretty well. One thing I didn't do so well on. though, was communication. There were, multiple times when I thought I was thinking the same thing as the group, but we had totally different ideas. The big occurrence of this was when I thought we were getting a different size board then what we actually got. Other than this, my other main flaw was how hard it is for me to accept new ideas. Often when plans were changed, I didn't really like it. This came up when we had to alter our lever.
Looking back on this project, I see a few things I did well, and a few things I didn't. One thing I did well was planning. I always had something to do, and I did it well. Another good thing was my leadership. I thought Ashley was the leader of our group, but apparently I lead pretty well. One thing I didn't do so well on. though, was communication. There were, multiple times when I thought I was thinking the same thing as the group, but we had totally different ideas. The big occurrence of this was when I thought we were getting a different size board then what we actually got. Other than this, my other main flaw was how hard it is for me to accept new ideas. Often when plans were changed, I didn't really like it. This came up when we had to alter our lever.