Rube Goldberg Machines! Ideas Over the Past 3 Months
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CAREERS We have been exploring career Rube Goldberg Machines! ideas over the past 3 months. If you missed those issues, you Wacky Fun! Dr. Barbara J. Shaw can find activities 38 through 40 located here: http://tra.extension.colostate.edu/ stem-resources/ The 12 broad interest categories are: Adventure Animals and Nature Art Business Computers Math Music and Dance Artwork Copyright © and TM Rube Goldberg Inc. All Rights Reserved. RUBE GOLDBERG ® is a Science registered trademark of Rube Goldberg Inc. All materials used with permission. rubegoldberg.com Sports BACKGROUND Talking Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was born in San Francisco on July 4th, Travel 1883. He graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Writing degree in engineering, but he realized that engineering was not the career for him. His first job at the San Francisco Chronicle led to early What are your four top ranked success. He moved to New York City to work for Hearst publications. broad interests from the results That is when he became a household name. He was a Pulitzer Prize of your quiz: cartoonist, and he is best known for his zany invention cartoons, like the 1. one above. He is the only person to be listed in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as an adjective. It’s estimated that he developed a whopping 2. 50,000 cartoons in his lifetime. (From Rube Goldberg, Inc.: https:// www.rubegoldberg.com/about/) 3. 4. Objectives You will: Last month, you worked on a Identify and describe Sir Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion project that combined your top Build and explain how the Simple Machines function interests. The project you Construct a Rube Goldberg Machine utilizing the Three Laws of selected also reviews your Motion and Simple Machines interests. Selecting your favorite TV DO: shows, movies, and books, Materials: The TV shows and movies Plastic cup half full of water you watch, the books you Coins (3 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel, and 1 cent) Corrugated cardboard Colorado State University Extension 4-H programs are available to all without discrimination. Die cast small toy car (e.g. Matchbox or Hot Wheels) read are very telling about Marbles your interests. Keep in mind Books—at least 3—thicker the better that you may also be drawn Ruler to art. Scissors If you selected writing a Pull-back car story, then you are interested Paper in writing. The story itself is Pencils at least 2—rounded work best revealing about other Masking tape interests. Rolling pin If you selected designing Twine or rope (about 6-8’) something using recycled Toilet paper tube Hard boiled eggs 3 materials, then you also have Dowel 12” an interest in art, science, or Tubing (about 24” - purchase from the pet store) math. Bowls 2 If you selected the journal, Balloons then you have an interest in writing and math. (Isn’t it Note: Everything that moves on Earth follows the Three Laws of Motion. funny how some interests in Testing the three laws of motion is endless fun! The activities included in math seem so un-math-y?) this lesson are for easy demonstration only. There are millions of ways If you presented activities to to explore (like a good game of baseball, or swimming, or playing jacks or younger 4-H members, then marbles or…) you also have an interest in talking. Three Laws of Motion: First Law—Inertia An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in Are you surprised at what you motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted selected? Did you pick upon by an unbalanced force. something that falls into your top ranked interests, or did you Object at Rest pick something that was Fill the plastic cup at least half full of outside those interests? water. Cut a square piece of cardboard a bit larger than the cup. This month, reflect: Place the cardboard on top of the cup and What you did a quarter centered over the cup on top of How you did it the cardboard. What was successful Predict what will happen when you flick What you would change the cardboard with your thumb and index Did you have fun? finger so that the card goes straight off the Spend some time really top of the cup. analyzing your project. Flick the card. What happened? What aspects of your project Repeat this with a nickel. Predict and then flick. were the easiest for you to Repeat with a cent. Predict and then flick. do? List those. Repeat with a dime. Predict and then flick. What skills do you have that Stack all the coins with the quarter on the bottom. Predict and flick. made that part of the project Stack all the coins with the dime on the bottom. Predict and flick. easy to do? Explain what happened to the coins. Which interest was dominant The coins are at rest and they remain at rest. When the card is in your project? For flicked away, gravity pulls them down into the cup. If you flick the example, if you made art out card too slowly, the lighter coins may move because friction (another of recycled material, and force) will start to pull them with the card. science is one of your top 2 interests, did that influence Object in Motion what you made? Did you I am Aroldis Chapman, a pitcher for the focus your art project on Cincinnati Reds, and I have the record fast scientific aspects (e.g. pitch of 105.1 mph. I am on the selecting colors that you International Space Station and doing a change with the light, or space walk. I have a baseball in my hand. including motors and gears to I anchor myself to the space station, and make your art move)? face away from the Earth. I throw the ball as hard as I can away from the Earth. Start an interest journal this What happens to the ball? month (if you didn’t start it The ball will continue traveling in a straight last month). Writing sparks line at 105.1 mph forever, unless it gets different parts of the brain too close to another object (like a planet). than typing does. If you The gravity from that planet will pull the utilize both writing and typing, ball away from the straight line, and you will be able to discover probably slow it down some. If a bit of more about yourself. space debris hits the ball, the impact will In your journal, keep things change the course and speed. that you find interesting. For Make a ramp with the corrugated example, you see a beautiful cardboard as long as possible (depending sunrise, and you want to on the piece of cardboard you have). capture the feeling, take a Make the ramp wide enough so that you picture and write a haiku in can roll your cars (both the die cast car your journal. Print the picture and pull-back car) down it. You can and tape it next to your haiku. optionally make a rim on the sides to keep the car from rolling off the If you see something on the ramp. internet that is fascinating or Set the ramp on three books (not the chair as pictured). Place a coin or marble on top of the car. If your car is a convertible, peaks your interests, print it you can use the marble. If not, you can place a coin on the top of the and tape it in your journal. car. Write your thoughts about Hold the ruler at the end of the ramp, so that the car will smack into it yourself at the end of the day and stop abruptly. or first thing in the morning. Predict what will happen to the marble or coin when the car hits the Try different questions, like: ruler. Why is my favorite color red? Try it out! Try different ramp heights. When is my favorite time of What happened? Why? the day? The marble or coin on top of the vehicle is traveling at a Don’t examine the journal constant speed when it hits the ruler. It continues at a just yet. Right now, your are constant speed. There are two forces that act on the marble just gathering those things or coin. The first is gravity, dragging it down. The second that please you, spark your force is collision with air molecules, slowing the marble or interest, or fascinate you. coin down. What would happen if you tried this one in Have fun! space? Three Laws of Motion: Second Law—F=ma The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object. The formal description of the second law is crazy hard to understand, but you already understand it, because you use it every day The description is F=ma. If I have a turkey baster, and I fill it with water. I hold the baster so the bulb is 3 down and the tip is pointed up. What happens to the water if I slowly POWER WORDS squeeze the bulb? What happens if I squeeze the bulb hard and acceleration: increase in the fast? Yep, you already understand it. rate or speed of something. ○ “F” is the force you apply to the turkey baster bulb force: an influence changing ○ “m” is the mass of water, and that remains the same the motion of a body or ○ “a” is the acceleration, and that is different depending on how hard produce motion or stress in a you squeeze stationary body; magnitude of It will dribble out if you slowly squeeze (low force, low such an influence is acceleration), but if you really squeeze hard, the water will calculated by multiplying the go flying out (high force, high acceleration).