A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that completes a simple task using complicated steps. My group and I decided on a video game theme for the machine itself. This included having a Pac-Man marble, a Mario pulley, and more classic game themed parts of the machine. The whole process was frustrating at times, but a fun experience. Our machine included a pulley system, an inclined plane, a screw, a lever, and a wedge. Our end goal was to get some Nintendo themed cereal into a bowl. All of this took about a month to finish the building part and add decorations.
A picture of our machine.
Reflection Overall, I think my group did great. We didn't do perfectly, but pretty well. One thing we did well as a group was building. We all did our part in the building. Also, I thought I was good at cooperating with my group to get work finished more quickly. Something I could improve on was leadership. In the reflections we did for each other, my lowest score was leadership and my group said I was outspoken a lot. I realized that some of the steps for the machine weren't my idea. So I made sure that I came up with the building ideas for the next steps. Another thing I could improve on was presenting. When we were doing practice runs on the slideshow presentation, I looked down a lot and would stutter at times. To improve, I would practice at home to look at my notes briefly instead of just reading off of it completely.
Concepts Force: Force can be described as a push or pull. To find it, multiply mass times acceleration. In our machine, the lever has a force on the Bowser Work: Work is the amount of energy put into something. It is calculated by force times distance. Work can be seen in our pulley system. Potential Energy: Potential energy is the energy an object has due to it's position and height. Our marble has a certain amount potential energy before the flagpole hits it. It is calculated by mass times acceleration due to gravity times height. Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is energy due to motion. This is shown when the marble is hit by the flagpole. Its calculated by mass times velocity squared divided by two. Velocity: Velocity is the rate of covered distance in a certain direction. The pacman marble rolls down a ramp at a certain velocity. It is calculated by distance over time. Mechanical Advantage: Mechanical Advantage is how much easier a machine makes a task. Our pulley system has a certain mechanical advantage. It is calculated by distance of effort over distance of load.