Rube Goldberg

Machine
PRESENTED BY: DEAN KIDDER-BUELL, LIZ KING, BENJAMIN
KLINGE, AND MARILYNN HUNT

Simple Machines
For our Rube Goldberg Machine, we used five different simple machines: a
screw, a pulley, an inclined plane, a lever, and a wheel and axle.
Screw- an inclined plane that wraps around in circles
Pulley- makes lifting loads easier by using rope and a wheel
Inclined Plane- a sloped surface that connects a high and a low point
Lever- a bar that rests on a fulcrum to make lifting loads easier
Wheel and Axle- a wheel that spins on an axle to move objects
Wedge- an object with one slanted side, used either to cut things
apart or hold something in place
The simple machine we did not use was a wedge.

Original vs Final Schematic

Original

Final

Step 1: The Screw

Velocity = change of
distance/change of
time
=1.15 m/s
The average velocity
of the marble down
the screw is 1.15 m/s.

STEP 2: The Pulley

Mechanical
advantage =
number of pulleys
MA=1
The mechanical
advantage of our
pulley is 1, which
means the force
effort = force load.

STEP 3: The Hammer

Work = change in potential
energy =
change in kinetic energy =
energy
transferred
=0.13J
The total energy
transferred from our
hammer to our small
marble is 0.13J.

STEP 4: The Inclined Plane

Change in Kinetic Energy =
Change in Potential Energy
=0.56J
The kinetic energy of our
marble at the end of the
inclined plane is 0.56J.

STEP 5: The Lever

Ideal Mechanical
Advantage = distance of
effort
__________________
distance of load
=0.75
The ideal mechanical
advantage of our lever is
0.75.

STEP 6: The Dominoes

Our dominoes topple
over due to
gravity. Toppling
works when the
center of gravity of an
object is
forced over the edge
of its bottom. When is
reaches this point, it
falls over due to
gravity.

STEP 7: The Pendulum

Potential Energy
due to Gravity =
mass (acceleration
due to gravity)
(height)
=3.84J
The potential
energy of our
pendulum is 3.84J.

STEP 8: The Car and The Cup

distance
Speed = -----------time
=0.37 m/s
The speed of our car
before it hits the string
of weights is 0.37 m/s.

STEP 9: The String of Weights

Force = mass
(acceleration)
=7.7N
The downward
force of our string
of weights is 7.7N.

STEP 10: The Weight and The Stapler

Potential Energy due to Gravity =
mass (acceleration) (height)
=1.8J
The potential energy of our
elevated weight is 1.8J.

Construction Record
We started our project with PVC pipe supporting the two
levels. We attached the screw and drilled the holes for the pulley
s strings. We then decided the PVC pipe wasnt sturdy enough to
hold the boards, so we switched them out for pieces of wood.
This made it much sturdier and slowly, we added each step.
We had a lot of trouble making the inclined plane work, but
eventually we got it. We also had trouble making the lever hit the
dominoes with enough force to knock them over. We realized
that the dominoes we were using were too light, so on our very
last build day we brought in real dominoes, and they work almost
perfectly. We got the rest of our steps to work with less
difficulties.

THE END!