Rube-Goldberg Rube-Goldberg MachineMachine

Rube-Goldberg Rube-Goldberg MachineMachine

By: John Higgins, Karmen McPherson, By: John Higgins, Karmen McPherson, Mark Johnson, Michelle MintonMark Johnson, Michelle Minton

The Group

Conversions• 1st Conversion is potential energy converted to

kinetic energy, mgh=1\2mv^2.• 2nd Conversion is an energy transfer through

momentum, m_1*v_1=m_2’*v_2’, because v_2=0 m/s and v_1’=0 m/s.

• 3rd Conversion is potential and kinetic energy to just kinetic energy, mgh+1/2mv_1^2=1/2mv_2^2.

The Machine

Errors• Conversions weren’t perfect because not all

energy was transferred.• Some velocity and energy was lost during the

first inch of travel due to friction.• We kept all velocities constant by saying

friction was negligible.• Not all of the velocity was transfer from the

weight to the ball because of horizontal velocity.

Conclusion• It was really neat to find out that what

we have been learning really applies to the real world.

• We used energy conservation and constant acceleration equations to find the horizontal distance the marble traveled after it left the pipe to find where to place the mouse trap.