Tag Archive | Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #6 – Final Reflection

From beginning to end, this project was an amazing experience for me. I learned that to create a chain reaction, you have to transfer energy from one object to another, multiple times. Working with Meera has made this project a lot more fun, and easier.

We would usually meet on Wednesday’s at her house to work on our Rube Goldberg machine. It wasn’t the hardest project, but definitely not the easiest either. Meera and I have learned to cooperate with each other and work together. We have learned to be patient, otherwise, nothing will go right. This project has frustrated us multiple times, but we did not give up. Although there might of been some moments when we were clueless of what to do next. At those moments, we might of wanted to give up, but we encouraged each other to keep going and focus on the project.

Overall, this project has taught me so much. I will definitely never forget this Rube Goldberg project experience.

Look below to see Meera and I’s final video:

 

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #5 – Testing The Design

Once Meera and I finished building the machine, we started to test it. We kind of tested it as we built it, but we had never tested the whole machine from beginning to end. Our hopes were high, but we didn’t know if everything would go right.

After we tested it a few times, we figured out some problems we had to fix. First, there was a car problem where the car wouldn’t go down the ramp, in fact, it would move at all. So we had to keep switching cars until we found one that worked. Next, we had the ball problem. It was similar to the car problem except it was the ball that wouldn’t move. Then, there was the lever problem. When the book fell onto the lever, it would just flip over and break. Finally, we had the string and tape problem. We couldn’t figure out how long the string was supposed to be and how much tape we should use. Testing the machine was really frustrating.

We failed a few times, almost every time. But I think there was one time when everything actually worked. It was awesome, but then, when we tried it again, it didn’t work. I think that testing the machine was fun, and frustrating. But Meera and I got along fine. There were absolutely no arguments during the testing part of the project, which made it a lot easier. This project so far, was a wonderful experience.

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #4 – Building The Machine

When Meera and I started to see what we needed to build our design based off of our sketch, we realized that we didn’t have half of the materials we needed. So of course, we had to go get them. We went shopping and searched the entire house. Finally, once we had gathered everything that we could get, we started building.

We basically got everything we needed, except for the lever, which at first we had no idea how to get. Then, after a while, Meera said that her dad could help make one! I had doubted that at first, but then, when it was actually built, I was surprised! It wasn’t the best lever ever, but we couldn’t get anything better. The lever was wobbly, which was our biggest problem, it couldn’t stand. And when we dropped something on it, it would topple over and break apart. I think that was the biggest problem of building the machine.

As Meera and I built our machine, we had no arguments, considering that all we had to do was look off our sketch. But if I remember correctly, I think that we might of disagreed on something while designing the machine. But it was such a small disagreement, that I completely forgot about it. So far, I think that building the Rube Goldberg machine, was the hardest part since we had to find so many materials. But I don’t know, after all, Meera and I might come across some other challenges.

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #3 – Designing The Machine

The time had finally came! Meera and I started to draw our final sketch of our Rube Goldberg machine. We had a lot to do. And we also had to split the jobs evenly between us. So we decided that I would draw the whole machine, and she would label all the parts of the machine I drew.

When I was halfway through drawing the machine, Meera and I realized that we had not enough room to draw the whole machine! So I had to start over and make the machine smaller so I would be able to fit the whole machine on the paper.

Our first step was dominoes crashing into a car. Our second step was for the car to roll down a ramp and hit a ball. Next, the ball would hit more dominoes. Then, the dominoes would hit an empty water bottle. After that, the empty water bottle would go through a tube and inside the tube would be a ball and a filled water bottle. Inside the tube, the empty water bottle would hit the ball which would hit the filled water bottle. Then the filled water bottle would hit a book and the book would fall onto a lever. Once it falls onto the lever, the other side of the lever would lift up, carrying a piece of string that was attached to the other side of the lever. And the string would also be connected to a post-it and when the string lifted with the other side of the lever, it would lift the post-it with it. And then our simple task which was to lift a post-it off a post-it pack, would be completed.

Designing the machine was easy and difficult. Meera and I had it all planned out. But we don’t know if after we build it, it will end up to be what we expect.

Look below to see our sketch:

 

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #2 – Collaboration

Working with my partner, Meera, has been going great so far! We have agreed on basically everything and haven’t argued once yet. I think that working with a partner, especially one like Meera, makes everything in the whole project easier because we can discuss and collaborate with each other. Meera and I have each contributed about the same amount of work so far. I came up with the simple task, Meera came up with the last few steps leading to it, and we both discussed the whole machine. We have both had a say in the project so far.

Meera and I work great together so there hasn’t been to many challenges yet. But if I had to think of a challenge, then I think it would probably be thinking of the simple task. Meera and I spent lots of time thinking of a simple task, and then when we finally thought of one, we realized it wouldn’t work. For example, we thought maybe the simple task could be to turn off the lights, but then we realized that the light switch was all the way at the bottom of the stairs and we couldn’t build the machine down the stairs because then nobody would be able to get up the stairs, nor down. So I think that figuring out the simple task was probably the most challenging part of this project so far. But other then that, Meera and I have had no other challenges. We haven’t argued, we haven’t fell behind, and we haven’t spent hours figuring out something. Collaborating with Meera has not been a challenge at all, in fact, it has been wonderful!

Rube Goldberg Blog Post #1- Decision Making

When I was told that my class would be building Rube Goldberg machines, I was excited, confused, and surprised at the same time. I had no clue how to build a Rube Goldberg machine, further more, I barely even knew what it was! I mean, I had a basic idea, but that wasn’t enough. So when my teacher said that we had the choice to work alone, in partnerships, or in groups, I decided to work in a partnership. Working in a partnership for me, is much easier then working alone, or in a group. I think why I like to work in partnerships, is because there are not too many people gathering and discussing, nor am I the only one. So I decided to do this project with my friend, Meera.

As Meera and I got further into the project, we had to make a lot more decisions. First, we had to decide what our plan was for the machine. For example, Meera and I discussed what the simple task would be, then we thought about the last few steps that would lead to completing the simple task, and finally, we went through all of the steps of the machine. In our case, Meera and I decided that the simple task would be to lift a post-it, from a post-it pack. Then, we figured maybe if we use something to hit a heavy object, then the heavy object could fall onto something like a seesaw, then the other side of the seesaw will rise, and the other side of the seesaw could maybe be attached to a string which is also connected to a post-it, so the when the other side of the seesaw rose, it would carry the string and the post-it with it. That way, the post-it would be lifted from the post-it pack and our simple task would be complete!

After figuring out the last few steps, Meera and I had to decide what we wanted our whole machine to look like. So we went through what we wanted our whole process to eventually look like. Throughout the whole process of our Rube Goldberg project so far, I had to make many decisions, and I’m pretty sure that I will probably be making more decisions soon. But it won’t be too difficult, after all, decision making is very important!