Going for the Goldberg!

The Rube Goldberg project continues! After waiting a few days, it was time to get started! At school yesterday we got to do a to ton of cool stuff on energy and related topics. For example we learned about kinetic energy, the energy of things moving, which will be the primary energy in my Rube Goldberg. I like kinetic energy because its reliable. Sure, things can veer off course, but you don’t have to worry about burning yourself or busting a toaster.  So after fully learning about energy, I learned about simple machines. There are 6 different ones, but my Rube Goldberg will be using only one: the inclined plane. I will be using a form of the inclined plain, stairs. Now that I had learned about energy and simple machines, it was time to get making my own Rube Goldberg!

Image result for the six different simple machines

The six simple machines. (from: “The+six+different+simple+machines – Google Search.” The+six+different+simple+machines – Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2017. <https://www.google.com/search?q=the%2Bsix%2Bdifferent%2Bsimple%2Bmachines&espv=2&biw=1403&bih=723&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikuv-NtM_RAhVBPiYKHcBrBqYQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=3OzkYO3zmTRNSM%3A>

So, when I got home I went up to the attic to see how I could map my Rube Goldberg. There would be extreme difficulties, the worst one being that the hallway wasn’t straight, it had sort of a curve to it. But after a few minutes, I could feel a plan forming in my head. The Rube Goldberg would wind around the hallway, down the stairs, and end at the bottom of the stairs, right next to the second floor office. But there were still things left to fill in? How would the marbles roll? How would I fit the dominoes in the right nooks? That is when sketching a draft comes in.

That night I was in my room, drawing my first draft! First I sketched out the space I was working with, then I wrote down my objectives, and for extra credit, I decided to include energy labels. I sketched the marble, nok hockey® area, then the balls chain reaction, the marble roll, the fall of the tennis ball, the collapse of the jenga and dominoes and finally, the ball rolling into the goal. I was done with my first sketch! Now, it was time to acquire materials and begin to build…

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