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Honors Physics – Rube Goldberg Machines

Rube Goldberg was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author. Best known for his “inventions”, Rube’s early years as an engineer informed his most acclaimed work. A Rube Goldberg contraption – an elaborate set of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups, and rods, put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles, and live animals. Mr. Colizzi’s Honors Physics class had the mission of constructing their own timely Rube Goldberg machines.

2020 AT HOME RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE CONTEST
Problem: To remove old tube, replace with new roll and unroll a minimum of 5 sheets
Materials: Anything you have around your house.
Rules:
1. You are not allowed to:
a. Use combustibles
b. Use pyrotechnics (no flames allowed)
2. You must supply all building materials
3. The machine must be activated by the drop of a ball.
4. You may not touch the ball or machine once the ball has been dropped.
5. Your machine must have at least 15 steps.
6. You may not use the same simple machine more than twice in sequence.
7. Your machine must complete the task in no less than twenty seconds and no more than 60 seconds to earn full credit. Optimum is 35 seconds.
8. You must include at least 4 simple machines in your complex machine. The simple machine must perform a task

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Here are a few videos of our creative and innovative Rube Goldberg Machines!