Ligyrophobiac Torture EF 151 Team Project Section A2

Group Members Brent Nanney Jeff Pipkin Tanaysha Mapp Benjamin Strength

Overview Device’s purpose: the device is designed for the simple task of popping a balloon. Materials used: plywood, dowel, string, marbles, a safety pin, mouse trap, popsicle sticks, hot glue, one large box, one Kleenex box, two bottle tops, scissors, a small hand saw, and a balloon. Total cost of purchased materials: $16.42

Overview cont. The device consists of four distinct steps. A marble starts from rest and rolls down a ramp. The marble strikes another marble hanging from a string, causing the marble to swing up and out like a pendulum. The marble strikes another marble at the top of a second ramp. The second marble rolls down its ramp and down a funnel to trip a set mousetrap. The trap springs, which in turn pops the balloon with its popsicle stick-extension armed with a safety pin.

Energy Conversions Step 1 (ramp 1): Ugravity  KE Step 2 (pendulum): KE  KE + Ugravity Step 3 (ramp 2 to mouse trap): KE + Ugravity  KE Step 4 (mouse trap): Uelastic  KE

Conclusions The device turned out to be very successful, mostly efficient, and a good idea. It’s simple and completes the task in a reasonable amount of time. Each of us learned about rube-Goldberg devices, how to work together as a team on a big project, and how energy can be converted in various everyday tasks through the use of ordinary objects. Our biggest hurdle was making minor changes and compromises with individual ideas, pertaining to how we would build our device and what materials to use.