Assessment 1: Your Rube Goldberg Machine Poster
Completion requirements
Assessment 1
Your Rube Goldberg Machine Poster
Have you ever heard of Rube Goldberg? He was an interesting fellow. An engineer by training, he chose to follow his passion in life by drawing cartoons. He was famous for his prize-winning newspaper cartoons, some of which were funny
drawings of very complex ways of doing a simple task. In fact, if you look up his name in the dictionary, you will find that "Rube Goldberg" now means doing something simple in a complex way.
For example, what if you wanted to turn the page of newspaper? If you were in a Rube Goldberg mood, you might turn the page like this:
For example, what if you wanted to turn the page of newspaper? If you were in a Rube Goldberg mood, you might turn the page like this:
Can you find all the simple machines in this Rube Goldberg device?
There is no practical reason for building Rube Goldberg devices! They are meant to be fun! In this activity, you will design your own Rube Goldberg machine. This is a great chance to express your creativity while also showing how
much you have learned about simple machines.
- For examples of Rube Goldberg machines and parts, and to provide inspiration for designing your own, watch the following videos:
- Think about a simple task for which you would like to design a Rube Goldberg machine. It can be anything such as raising a flag, pouring milk, or opening a door. Use your imagination! Remember that a Rube Goldberg machine
is supposed to fun! Your goal is to include as many of the simple machines as you can, but be sure you include at least have two different simple machines. The simple machines you have learned about so far are
- levers
- wheels, rollers, and axles
- pulleys and gears
- ramps
- levers
- Build your Rube Goldberg machine. You have options to do this! You can build it using a kit or household materials (or both), or you can draw a picture of the machine. If you draw a picture, be sure you label everything
clearly and add an explanation of how everything is supposed to work.
- Make a digital image of your machine you can share. If you have a camera available, take a digital photo of the machine you have built.
If you drew a picture, take a photo of that, or if you have a scanner, use that to make a digital image.
- Check in the criteria and rubric below to make sure that you have all of the components required for your Rube Goldberg.
- When you have completed the Assessment, submit it to your teacher using the "Add submission" button below.
Your Rube Goldberg machine should
- perform a task in an interesting and fun way
- include some or all of the simple machines you have learned about (levers, rollers, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane)
- an explanation of what your machine does, how it works, and of the simple machines you have included