Project Exchange
ACTIVITY: Calculating different aspects of physics in your Rube Goldberg device
Project: Rube Goldberg Project: Motion and the Physics of Change
SUMMARY
Goals
Details
Duration: 120+ minutes
Assessments: Student writing
Materials: Stopwatches, Scales, different parts of their project
Description
In these days, students are responsible for finding different physics concepts that are present in their Rube Goldberg device. The physics concepts covered are:
- Newtons 3 laws of motion
- Friction and the different types of friction
- Acceleration and Velocity
- Kinetic and Potential Energy
- Momentum
Refer to the attached sheet on how these were done during the project! Students will have to perform different experiments on their machine, and use equations (drawing from prior knowledge) to calculate different variables.
Students can break up the work in their group to calculate what is happening in their device.
ACTIVITY RESOURCES
(e.g. rubrics, examplars, websites, etc.)
5A graphic organizer
This graphic organizer helps students put together the information presented in Benchmark 5A...
Download (90K)
Benchmark for calculations (5A)
This describes what students need to find in their device, what calculations they will need to go through, and how they ...
Download (101K)
REFLECTIONS & COMMENTS
Author Reflections
Try to differentiate and talk to groups about how they are breaking up the work. Who is an expert on kinetic and potential energy, etc.? Then they can help and teach other students in their group on how to find what is happening.
ALL PROJECT ACTIVITIES
- The hook into Rube Goldberg Projects
- Project Planning continued
- Assigning group roles and starting a formal proposal
- Project building. Should take 2 or more days
- Calculating different aspects of physics in your Rube Goldberg device
- Writing a script for the presentation (can be also done during project building and calculations)
- Presenting your Rube Goldberg Device to the class