More Rube Goldbergs

Yes, it was time for the yearly Rube Goldberg project. This year they had to do a much more thorough job measuring heights, masses, and calculating the kinetic and potential energies of each object. Most groups chose "pop a balloon" as their task...here is the most video-friendly machine (most of them happen so fast it's hard to see what's happening on a recording). The books fall, turning on the hair dryer, which sends the TP rolling, knocking over a pillar, which releases a ball, sending a ball rolling, which finally sends a car (with a needle attached) crashing into the balloon. On this second one, you can see proof of the power of prayer (listen for one of the students' supplications right as they start it). It worked! Here is a third group who opted to pour out a can of pop for their task.