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Can you design and build your own Rube Goldberg machine?

Can you design and build your own Rube Goldberg machine?
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# Unit Review: Key Concepts
  • Energy makes things move
  • Energy can be stored in many different ways
  • Energy is released
  • Height gives energy
  • Energy can be transferred through collisions
  • Energy moves along a path
  • There are different forms of energy (height, motion, sound, and much more)
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Extensions

Opportunities to extend:

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Activity Prep

Print Prep

In the Performance Task, students will design a Rube Goldberg machine that utilizes energy transfers and conversions to complete a goal of the student's choosing.

Preview activity
Number of students:
Chain-Reaction Starter Kit printout 1 per student
Rube Goldberg Conceptual Model worksheet 1 per student
Rube Goldberg Final Project worksheet 1 per student
Rube Goldberg Final Project Rubric teacher-only resource 1 per student
Prep Instructions

Step 1: Plan ahead

In this performance task, students apply what they've learned about storing, releasing, and transferring energy by building their own Rube Goldberg machine to complete a goal of their choosing. To complete this performance task, students will need the ramps, levers, and various classroom materials from Lessons 4 and 5.

Students may bring in materials and objects from home to use in their Rube Goldberg machines.

Step 2: Gather supplies

Students will work in groups to build a Rube Goldberg Machine. Each group will need:

  • Scissors
  • At least four stickers or strips of masking tape (Note: We use stickers like these because they substitute well for strips of tape and are easier to hand out in a large class)
  • Dixie cup
  • Up to four jumbo paper clips about 1¾ inches long (you can use small ones, but you’ll need twice as many)
  • One of the ramps built in Lesson 4
  • One of the levers from Lesson 4 (or the ruler, marker, and rubber band used to make it)
  • 3 x 5 card
  • A few books to stack for height
  • Table or desks to work on
  • Small 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch marble
  • A marker to write with

Students can also add a variety of materials to extend their Rube Goldberg machines. You can ask them to bring things in, or gather some basic materials to keep in the classroom. See the list below for items we recommend having on hand. Or, for more ideas, watch "Inspiration for Chain Reaction Builders" in Extras to see some possibilities.

  • Extra printouts of the “Chain-Reaction Starter Kit” handout from Mystery 4 (in case students want to make more ramps)
  • Card stock for making custom-built ramps
  • Paper cups to serve as ramp supports
  • Books and boxes to add height
  • Dominoes or objects that will topple like dominoes (dominoes built of LEGO bricks, cassette tapes, paperback books, markers standing on end, etc.)
  • String
  • More stickers
  • Things that roll (empty cans, toy cars, rubber balls, markers lying down, toilet-paper tubes)
  • Unconventional ramps (like empty binders)

Step 3: Print out classroom materials

Each student will need:

Unit Review

20 mins

Hands-On Activity

180 mins

Extend this lesson