In the Rube Goldberg Project, students will build a Rube Goldberg Machine (by definition, "of, relating to, or being a contrivance that brings about by complicated means what apparently could have been accomplished simply....") and explain the phyics of motion in that machine. Some examples of rube goldberg devices in the past, in both movies and pop culture, are the device that Pee Wee Herman uses to make breakfast in the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," or the game "Mousetrap." Students will be able to explain and demonstrate the physics of motion (specifically Newtons Three Laws, Velocity, Acceleration, Kinetic and Potential Energy, and Momentum) through running their machine and will be able to calculate the velocity, acceleration, and energy generated by their machines as they run to complete simple tasks. They will have a working knowledge of simple motion equations and how to calculate in real life situations.

Students will have the experience of going through a brainstorming process to work with groups to build a machine that, through complicated motion, completes a simple task. They will build their own machine using material that they work on getting, and go through many iterations to put together a working machine. They will also work on using the basic equations of physics to describe their machine.

 

Subject Area(s): Science

 

Teaching Days to Complete: 4 weeks

 

Keywords  What's this?

Rube Goldberg, Physics, Motion, Change, Velocity, Acceleration, Newton, kinetic energy, potential energy

 

Outcomes  What's this?

 

21st Century Leadership Skills  What's this?

Communicate Effectively and Persuasively, Manage Projects Effectively, Think Critically, Solve Problems Resourcefully , Collaborate Productively

 

Graduation Portfolio Tasks  What's this?

Problem-solving Application, Multimedia Project