Post #2 - Group #30

A) Which simple machines do you plan to incorporate and how do you plan to use them?

So far, we plan to use an incline plane, a pulley system, a wedge, a wheel and axle, and a lever in our Rube Goldberg design. The incline is used many times in different ways, the method in which we gain the most mechanical advantage is by rolling a lacrosse ball up the plane instead of up a sheer face. This requires less force due to the nature of an inclined plane. The pulley system is used to gain a mechanical advantage in lifting a weighted object that is to be determined. It will be heavier than a lacrosse ball and will need to offer enough of a mechanical advantage to lift the heavier object. The wedge will be used to sever a thin string that will release a weight that will fall to complete the circuit of a fan, turning in on. This fan will, in turn, blow a wheel and axle with a fan on it. Here, the wheel and axle will provide a mechanical advantage by having a sail and decreasing the amount of friction with the ground as it relates to an object without bearings or wheels. Finally, the lever will be used to gain an advantage by placing more torque on the lacrosse ball and knocking it from potential energy of gravity to kinetic energy because the marble will trigger movement from the lever that will hit the lacrosse ball.


B) What energy transfers do you plan to incorporate and how will they be demonstrated in your project?

We plan to incorporate the following energy transfers. One transfer of energy is the transfer of potential energy of gravity to kinetic energy. this will be demonstrated by a lacrosse ball which sits above the ground, stagnant, and is provoked to move and roll, thus demonstrating a transfer of energy. Second, a transfer of kinetic energy to electrical energy will occur as a block is dropped to complete a circuit and trigger a fan. The fan demonstrates a third energy transfer as electrical energy is transformed into mechanical energy and heat energy due to friction. Finally, the mechanical energy of the fan will transfer to a wheel and axle making a transfer from mechanical to kinetic energy. 

C) Finally, how has each group member specifically contributed to the project since the start?

Each of our group members have been surprisingly active and enthusiastic about our design. Since the start, Mack proposed our final design to stand the board upright. After much debate on the most frugal material-wise, Mack proposed an idea that saved materials while also offered maximum support, a true engineer. Kyle began the work on the board, calculating the angle we needed for our first incline to send our marble into the contraption and drilling holes in our metal track that would serve this purpose. Joe has been hard at work with the design and construction of individual parts such as our wheel and axle and sail system and the design for our first lever. Christian has been working on the electrical components of the board such as the fan, splicing power wires and rerouting them to fit the project, as well as cutting any pieces of wood or plastic we needed. I can safely say that no one has been standing still since the project has started.