Machine Name: Rolly Polly

Diagram of my machine parts:

Step 1 (A): The ball at the beginning while on the wooden plank has gravitational potential energy. As it rolls down the inclined plane, when pushed by dominos (in the classroom) or human touch, it will transform into kinetic energy.

Step 2 (B): When the heavy object (which is the ball) falls into the bucket, and moves the wooden block up. This is a potential to kinetic to potential energy transformation.

Step 3 (C): The ball on the second wooden block also has gravitational potential energy, and once the wooden block moves. It’s able to gain mechanical kinetic energy because of the pulley.

Step 4 (D): The ball will go down the wooden plank because of kinetic energy and into the pipe in Step 5 (E).

Step 6 (F): There is a car inside of the tunnel in the pipe that has potential energy. The potential energy will transform into kinetic energy once the ball hits the car when going down the pipe.

1. Simple machines: Inclined plane (2x), pulley, and wheel and axle (car)
2. Energy transfers/transformations: a) Step 1: gravitational potential energy -> kinetic energy (dominos pushing ball)  b) Step 2: potential energy -> kinetic energy -> potential energy (ball going inside the bucket and moving the wooden block) c) Step 3: gravitational potential energy -> mechanical kinetic energy (ball moving due to the wooden block going up) d) Step 6: potential energy ->kinetic energy (ball pushing the car that was inside the tunnel)
3. Forms of energy: a) Potential ( more specifically gravitational) / Kinetic (mechanical)
4. Steps: 1) The ball at the beginning has gravitational potential energy, once it rolls down the inclined plane it transforms into kinetic energy. 2) When the heavy object (the ball) falls into the bucket and the wooden block (second inclined plane) moves up, this is a potential energy to kinetic energy to potential energy transform. 3) The ball on the wooden block has gravitational potential energy and once the wooden block moves, the ball gains mechanical kinetic energy because of the increasing angle of the inclined plane. 4) It will fall into the first pipe. 5) When the ball goes down the wooden plank, the ball has kinetic energy and goes inside the second pipe. 6) Once the ball is out of the angled pipe, it will hit the car which has potential energy inside the tunnel, and it will transform to kinetic energy.
5. Reliability: It worked in every single trial during the class assembly. There was only human intervention for the dominos pushing the ball, but that wasn’t apart of my machine I created. It worked perfectly well in every other step/parts.
6. Creative: I made up the idea to use the wooden blocks, pulley, pipes, car, and multiple balls in my machine.
7. Written explanation + drawing: I provided a lot of information about how my Rube Goldberg piece works and wrote down thorough steps.