Rube Goldberg Rules

kjRube Goldberg Planning and Requirements Not allowed: knives, razors, matches, lighters, firecrackers, live animals, or anything resembling gunfire/weaponry

 Please use your best judgment in your design, planning and materials  Minimal flames are allowed with teacher permission and supervision.  Your machine must fit into at most one cubic meter of space.  All messes must be contained within the machine (i.e. egg yolk may not fly across the classroom).  You provide the materials for your machine. It can be made from pretty much anything.  You can design parts of your machine at home, but it must be fully assembled at school to make sure it is YOUR design.  Teams of three or four. Once you have a team selected and cleared with me, you will remain on that team for the duration. No drama.  Absence does NOT make the heart grow fonder if your team is counting on you.  Do your part and be here, every day, if possible.

Rube Goldberg Instructions: PART ONE 1. Rough design of Rube Goldberg Device (due ) a. A Rube Goldberg machine goes through four (five if you count the starting step) complicated steps to accomplish a task which would be easier to do in one step. YOU MUST USE 4 OF THE SIX SIMPLE MACHINES. b. Brainstorm ideas for your end task. The machine has to do something somewhat useful. c. Figure out which four of the six simple machines you will use. d. Do a rough sketch of your project i. Label the five steps (one touch to start, then four new things have to move). (Remember, starting the project does not count as a step). ii. Show how the energy of motion is transferred or transformed between each step. (To be discussed later.) 10 Assignment Points (due ______) e. Write a description of the machine (7 sentences, minimum), including the starting action, materials you need, and the final goal. Include the simple machines you will use. 10 Assignment Points (due______)

2. Building Project a. Build your machine. Try out each step as you build to make sure it works. Remember, if you’re not sure that your design follows the rules, ASK. i. Step 1 and 2 are due on at the end of the period. 20 participation points ii. Step 3 and 4 are due on at the end of the period. 20 participation points iii. Step 5 and 6 are due on at the end of the period. 20 participation points b. Budget your time wisely—it goes by quickly.

3. Explanation & Final, COLORED & LABELED Diagram of Rube Goldberg Device (______, start as soon as you are sure of your final product) a. Draw a neat, carefully labeled diagram of your device—use white paper, a ruler, etc. This will be attached to your final project. b. Show where you take advantage of potential energy, where energy is transferred/transformed between objects, and which simple machines you used. 10 Test Points. c. On another sheet of paper, neatly write or type a step-by-step description of your project (this must be a numbered list.) This will also go on your project. 10 Test Points

4. Judging ( ) a. You get twenty minutes to set up and do test runs on your machine. b. After that, you need to have your machine ready to go, remember only one touch to start it. 80 Participation Points c. Judges’ decisions are final.