Research+Paper



Rocky DelMonte--> My name: Jake Bakovsky A. Fix grammar issues B. Fix paragraph formatting C. Nothing else to change D. Nothing else to change

Tyler Buckley --> My name: Jake Bakovsky A. Fix paragraph formatting B. Switch sentences around C. Fix unrelated sentences D. Nothing else to change

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This is the format I am supposed to complete for my completion dates:

A minimum of 2 total pages due: Monday, March 8, 2010

At least 2 additional pages (minimum of 4 pages total) due: Friday, March 12, 2010

At least 2 additional pages (minimum of 6 pages total) due: Monday, March 15, 2010

At least 2 additional pages (minimum of 8 pages total) due: Friday, March 19, 2010

Monday, March 8, 2010

Ruben Lucius Goldberg was a cartoonist, artist, writer and engineer that changed the American’s perception of the oncoming machine age at the turn of the twentieth century. He was born on July Fourth, 1883 to Hannah and Max Goldberg. (Wolfe) Hannah died when Rube was just a young teen leaving his father to take car of him and his two bothers and one sister by himself. Max Goldberg emigrated from Prussia to New York during the Civil War and eventually found work in San Francisco. (Wolfe) Max dealt with real estate, banking and politics that helped the west become more established like the east at that time in United States history. He sent Rube to the prestigious Lowell High School in Sam Francisco. Rube was very passionate about drawing at a young age. When he was eleven, he went to drawing and painting classes at night with Charles Beall for 50 cents a class. (Wolfe) He attended class religiously every day for three years. However when he told his family that he wanted to be an artist, they were upset that he wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. Max tried to dissuade him from ruining his life in an art career, and talked to him about getting an engineering degree. Mining engineers on the west coast were getting paid top dollar at the time and it was a lucrative career choice. (Wolfe) The world’s greatest artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, were first trained as engineers, so Rube got into the School of Mining Engineering at University of California in Berkeley. During his time at Berkeley, he worked as a cartoonist and writer for student magazine //The Pelican//. (Wolfe) He graduated in 1904 and got a job at the San Francisco City Chief Engineer’s Office with a lucrative $100 per month salary. The knowledge he learned at engineering school and with inspiration from his professors, he created cartoons that revolutionized American culture at the time. Rube Goldberg created a character name Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, who created inventions in his cartoons. He was directly modeled from Rube’s professor of analytical mechanics and physics. It’s modeled after Professor Slate, who created a machine called a “Barodik.”(George) It was a contraption that looked like a system of tubes, hoses and random pieces of dental tools. The contraption was designed to calculate the weight of the earth. Everybody in the class received an A, because nobody actually knew what the actual weight of the earth was. This quirky machine helped Rube launch his war against inefficiency and problems that plagued the common man. He quit his job as an at the Engineer’s Office to pursue his passion for cartooning. He got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle for $8 dollars a week. As he gained popularity among readers he got a raise to $10 dollars a week. (Wolfe) Searching for more recognition and to take his work to another level, decided to go to New York, where the newspaper industry was booming and cartoonists were often used as weapons in a war of politics. However despite his popularity in San Francisco, he went largely unnoticed in New York. He was jobless for a few weeks until he got a job as a sports artist for the //New York Evening Mail.// Rube didn’t start getting noticed until he came out with his cartoon series, //Foolish Questions// in 1909. (Wolfe) The premise of the series were questions that can be answered with a “no duh” answer and clever cartoons that depicted the scenario. The series ran from 1909 all the way until 1934 and became a popular board game. (George) Also, in 1915 and 1916, Rube created short animated cartoons that had thousands of hand-made illustrations in each film. He also worked to publish cartoons in newspapers all around the world. His work extremely popular, and was earning $100,000 a year. (George) The series that inspired the idea for modern day Rube Goldberg inventions are because of Rube’s best known series, “The Inventions.” (Wolfe) It was published in and inspired by the Machine Age of American History. The railroad, automobile and telephone where the latest commodities that industrialized the American economy. Everyone was trying to invent the next light bulb or new consumer product that would help them become rich, like Thomas Edison. His drawings were labeled in increments from “A” to “B” to “C” so that the reader could follow which direction to invention takes. His inventions were designed to solve the problems that plagued the common man and inventions that compressed time. For example, shorten the time it takes for a flower to grow or for the sun to heat water. In addition to “The Invention” comic strip, Rube also published the “Weekly Invention.” (Wolfe) One of his cartoons illustrates a way to solve gas problems. The description of the cartoon reads as follows: “The driver opens trapdoor(A)- monkey(B) reaches for banana(C) upsetting basket of cotton(D)-ducks(E) mistaking cotton for snow, think winter has arrived and fly south, pulling car forward….P.S-These are vitamin-fed superducks.” (George) Although this idea is farfetched and impossible due to the fact that we can’t genetically make super ducks that can pull a car, and it’s impractical to put those useless steps to solve the gas problems we have with cars.

Friday, March 12, 2010

If one were to look up Rube Goldberg in the dictionary, they would get two definitions. Usually, when asked to look up a single person, one would get a brief description of the person, if that person was important enough to be in the dictionary. In the case of Rube Goldberg, we get more than just that. Webster defines Rube Goldberg as a: “US cartoonist of comically involved contrivances.” Webster also defines Rube Goldberg as “designating any very complicated invention, machine, scheme, etc. laboriously contrived to perform a seemingly simple operation.” Designating any complicated invention is an excellent way for physics students and teachers to learn physics principles through hands-on learning. Building a Rube Goldberg can do just that. Knowing the history behind the man can also help one learn where many of our modern conveniences come from as well. **When learning hands-on, students feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is complete and are able to transfer experiences to other learning situations; designing and building a Rube Goldberg enables students to learn more about physics principles.** Ruben Lucius Goldberg was a cartoonist, artist, writer and engineer that changed the American’s perception of the oncoming machine age at the turn of the twentieth century. He was born on July Fourth, 1883 to Hannah and Max Goldberg. (Wolfe) Hannah died when Rube was just a young teen leaving his father to take car of him and his two bothers and one sister by himself. Max Goldberg emigrated from Prussia to New York during the Civil War and eventually found work in San Francisco. (Wolfe) Max dealt with real estate, banking and politics that helped the west become more established like the east at that time in United States history. He sent Rube to the prestigious Lowell High School in Sam Francisco. Rube was very passionate about drawing at a young age. When he was eleven, he went to drawing and painting classes at night with Charles Beall for 50 cents a class. (Wolfe) He attended class religiously every day for three years. However when he told his family that he wanted to be an artist, they were upset that he wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. Max tried to dissuade him from ruining his life in an art career, and talked to him about getting an engineering degree. Mining engineers on the west coast were getting paid top dollar at the time and it was a lucrative career choice. (Wolfe) The world’s greatest artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, were first trained as engineers, so Rube got into the School of Mining Engineering at University of California in Berkeley. During his time at Berkeley, he worked as a cartoonist and writer for student magazine //The Pelican//. (Wolfe) He graduated in 1904 and got a job at the San Francisco City Chief Engineer’s Office with a lucrative $100 per month salary. The knowledge he learned at engineering school and with inspiration from his professors, he created cartoons that revolutionized American culture at the time. Rube Goldberg created a character name Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, who created inventions in his cartoons. He was directly modeled from Rube’s professor of analytical mechanics and physics. It’s modeled after Professor Slate, who created a machine called a “Barodik.”(George) It was a contraption that looked like a system of tubes, hoses and random pieces of dental tools. The contraption was designed to calculate the weight of the earth. Everybody in the class received an A, because nobody actually knew what the actual weight of the earth was. This quirky machine helped Rube launch his war against inefficiency and problems that plagued the common man. He quit his job as an at the Engineer’s Office to pursue his passion for cartooning. He got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle for $8 dollars a week. As he gained popularity among readers he got a raise to $10 dollars a week. (Wolfe) Searching for more recognition and to take his work to another level, decided to go to New York, where the newspaper industry was booming and cartoonists were often used as weapons in a war of politics. However despite his popularity in San Francisco, he went largely unnoticed in New York. He was jobless for a few weeks until he got a job as a sports artist for the //New York Evening Mail.// Rube didn’t start getting noticed until he came out with his cartoon series, //Foolish Questions// in 1909. (Wolfe) The premise of the series were questions that can be answered with a “no duh” answer and clever cartoons that depicted the scenario. The series ran from 1909 all the way until 1934 and became a popular board game. Rube went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his political cartoons published by the New York Sun. (George) Also, in 1915 and 1916, Rube created short animated cartoons that had thousands of hand-made illustrations in each film. He also worked to publish cartoons in newspapers all around the world. His work extremely popular, and was earning $100,000 a year. (George) The series that inspired the idea for modern day Rube Goldberg inventions are because of Rube’s best known series, “The Inventions.” (Wolfe) It was published in and inspired by the Machine Age of American History. The railroad, automobile and telephone where the latest commodities that industrialized the American economy. Everyone was trying to invent the next light bulb or new consumer product that would help them become rich, like Thomas Edison. His drawings were labeled in increments from “A” to “B” to “C” so that the reader could follow which direction to invention takes. His inventions were designed to solve the problems that plagued the common man and inventions that compressed time. For example, shorten the time it takes for a flower to grow or for the sun to heat water. In addition to “The Invention” comic strip, Rube also published the “Weekly Invention.” (Wolfe) One of his cartoons illustrates a way to solve gas problems. The description of the cartoon reads as follows: “The driver opens trapdoor(A)- monkey(B) reaches for banana(C) upsetting basket of cotton(D)-ducks(E) mistaking cotton for snow, think winter has arrived and fly south, pulling car forward….P.S-These are vitamin-fed superducks.” (George) Although this idea is farfetched and impossible due to the fact that we can’t genetically make super ducks that can pull a car, and it’s impractical to put those useless steps to solve the gas problems we have with cars. However we have taken that idea of saving on gas by make fuel efficient cars and nozzles that squeeze miniscule drops of gas instead of guzzling. Rube had other ideas that we now have inventions for such as his automatic garage door opener. It had steps A-Q that describe a system in which you pull up to your garage and the door will open for you. It opened with a system that used kinetic energy and it was a cartoon that had parts which were not ideal, however today we have a garage door opener that automatically opens your garage door from inside your car.

Monday, March 15, 2010

If one were to look up Rube Goldberg in the dictionary, they would get two definitions. Usually, when asked to look up a single person, one would get a brief description of the person, if that person was important enough to be in the dictionary. In the case of Rube Goldberg, we get more than just that. Webster defines Rube Goldberg as a: “US cartoonist of comically involved contrivances.” Webster also defines Rube Goldberg as “designating any very complicated invention, machine, scheme, etc. laboriously contrived to perform a seemingly simple operation.” Designating any complicated invention is an excellent way for physics students and teachers to learn physics principles through hands-on learning. Building a Rube Goldberg can do just that. Knowing the history behind the man can also help one learn where many of our modern conveniences come from as well. **When learning hands-on, students feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is complete and are able to transfer experiences to other learning situations; designing and building a Rube Goldberg enables students to learn more about physics principles.** Ruben Lucius Goldberg was a cartoonist, artist, writer and engineer that changed the American’s perception of the oncoming machine age at the turn of the twentieth century. He was born on July Fourth, 1883 to Hannah and Max Goldberg. (Wolfe) Hannah died when Rube was just a young teen leaving his father to take car of him and his two bothers and one sister by himself. Max Goldberg emigrated from Prussia to New York during the Civil War and eventually found work in San Francisco. (Wolfe) Max dealt with real estate, banking and politics that helped the west become more established like the east at that time in United States history. He sent Rube to the prestigious Lowell High School in Sam Francisco. Rube was very passionate about drawing at a young age. When he was eleven, he went to drawing and painting classes at night with Charles Beall for 50 cents a class. (Wolfe) He attended class religiously every day for three years. However when he told his family that he wanted to be an artist, they were upset that he wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. Max tried to dissuade him from ruining his life in an art career, and talked to him about getting an engineering degree. Mining engineers on the west coast were getting paid top dollar at the time and it was a lucrative career choice. (Wolfe) The world’s greatest artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, were first trained as engineers, so Rube got into the School of Mining Engineering at University of California in Berkeley. During his time at Berkeley, he worked as a cartoonist and writer for student magazine //The Pelican//. (Wolfe) He graduated in 1904 and got a job at the San Francisco City Chief Engineer’s Office with a lucrative $100 per month salary. The knowledge he learned at engineering school and with inspiration from his professors, he created cartoons that revolutionized American culture at the time. Rube Goldberg created a character name Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, who created inventions in his cartoons. He was directly modeled from Rube’s professor of analytical mechanics and physics. It’s modeled after Professor Slate, who created a machine called a “Barodik.”(George) It was a contraption that looked like a system of tubes, hoses and random pieces of dental tools. The contraption was designed to calculate the weight of the earth. Everybody in the class received an A, because nobody actually knew what the actual weight of the earth was. This quirky machine helped Rube launch his war against inefficiency and problems that plagued the common man. He quit his job as an at the Engineer’s Office to pursue his passion for cartooning. He got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle for $8 dollars a week. As he gained popularity among readers he got a raise to $10 dollars a week. (Wolfe) Searching for more recognition and to take his work to another level, decided to go to New York, where the newspaper industry was booming and cartoonists were often used as weapons in a war of politics. However despite his popularity in San Francisco, he went largely unnoticed in New York. He was jobless for a few weeks until he got a job as a sports artist for the //New York Evening Mail.// Rube didn’t start getting noticed until he came out with his cartoon series, //Foolish Questions// in 1909. (Wolfe) The premise of the series were questions that can be answered with a “no duh” answer and clever cartoons that depicted the scenario. The series ran from 1909 all the way until 1934 and became a popular board game. Rube went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his political cartoons published by the New York Sun. (George) Also, in 1915 and 1916, Rube created short animated cartoons that had thousands of hand-made illustrations in each film. He also worked to publish cartoons in newspapers all around the world. His work extremely popular, and was earning $100,000 a year. (George) The series that inspired the idea for modern day Rube Goldberg inventions are because of Rube’s best known series, “The Inventions.” (Wolfe) It was published in and inspired by the Machine Age of American History. The railroad, automobile and telephone where the latest commodities that industrialized the American economy. Everyone was trying to invent the next light bulb or new consumer product that would help them become rich, like Thomas Edison. His drawings were labeled in increments from “A” to “B” to “C” so that the reader could follow which direction to invention takes. His inventions were designed to solve the problems that plagued the common man and inventions that compressed time. For example, shorten the time it takes for a flower to grow or for the sun to heat water. In addition to “The Invention” comic strip, Rube also published the “Weekly Invention.” (Wolfe) One of his cartoons illustrates a way to solve gas problems. The description of the cartoon reads as follows: “The driver opens trapdoor(A)- monkey(B) reaches for banana(C) upsetting basket of cotton(D)-ducks(E) mistaking cotton for snow, think winter has arrived and fly south, pulling car forward….P.S-These are vitamin-fed superducks.” (George) Although this idea is farfetched and impossible due to the fact that we can’t genetically make super ducks that can pull a car, and it’s impractical to put those useless steps to solve the gas problems we have with cars. However we have taken that idea of saving on gas by make fuel efficient cars and nozzles that squeeze miniscule drops of gas instead of guzzling. Rube had other ideas that we now have inventions for such as his automatic garage door opener. It had steps A-Q that describe a system in which you pull up to your garage and the door will open for you. It opened with a system that used kinetic energy and it was a cartoon that had parts which were not ideal, however today we have a garage door opener that automatically opens your garage door from inside your car. In engineering, Rube Goldberg machines are a staple of hands on development. There are many key elements that contribute to its applications to engineering. Every Rube Goldberg machine is designed differently and works in different ways. The components of a Rube Goldberg include many simple machines such as inclined planes, pulleys, levers, wedges, wheels and even gears sometimes. When one would attempt to make one they would need to have a basic knowledge in how to build these and an idea for a simple task to accomplish. It is all accomplished with hands-on learning skills associated with building such a machine. This is the best way for physics teachers to teach simple machines and complex machines to students. With hands-on learning, students who have difficulty in the learning area because of disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) can mostly be found to be on task more often because they are // part of // the learning process and not just spectators. (Haury) Students in a hands-on science program will feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, remember the material better, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations. (Haury) When more than one method of learning is accessed as in hands-on learning, the information has a better chance of being stored in the memory for useful retrieval. (Haury) This method of learning also stimulates the minds of students who show little interest in school and makes the project or operation fun for that student. (Haury) Building a Rube Goldberg is the best way to accomplish this in the physics classroom. There is an old Chinese Proverb that says: I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. (Haury) With science, if it isn’t learned hands-on, the concepts will be difficult to understand, thus a Rube Goldberg is a great way for students to learn designing and building principles with a sense of accomplishment. Students at Perdue University have been feeling this sense of accomplishment for 27 years now. Every year they hold an event they call a Rube Goldberg Inefficiency contest. The task is laid out for the teams, such as put batteries in a flashlight or shred sheets of paper, toast bread, makes coffee, and clean and peel an apple, however it must take as many unnecessary components as possible to accomplish. Teams also receive points based on creativity, complexity and ingenuity. (Purdue Students Excel in Rube Goldberg Inefficiency Competition) The team that won on March 6th, 2006 used 215 steps to shred five sheets of paper. The Purdue University Society if Professional Engineers spent a total of about 4,000 hours on their machine. Team leader Jordan said, “It’s a great feeling because we had a lot of challenges this year.” (Purdue Students Excel in Rube Goldberg Inefficiency Competition) Jay Gore, the Vincent P. Reilly Professor in Mechanical Engineering said, “The Rube Goldberg contest encourages young people to use their creativity and education to create a working machine- and have fun doing it.” The winner will move onto nationals held at Perdue. In the most recent competition in on Jan 30, 2009, teams had the task of changing a light bulb in 20 steps or more. However the task is more complicated than just changing the light bulb. The light bulb must be replaced with a more energy-efficient, light-emitting design. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The event usually draws a crowd of over 1,500 people. The machines must run through two successful runs and teams will lose points if the machine needs assistance after it has started. In 2008, the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers won the regional contest for the fourth time in a row by assembling a hamburger in 101 steps and went on to win nationals. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The event is sponsored by many companies that hire engineers and their achievements mark a significant accomplishment on their resume`. Such sponsors that watch the event are BAE systems, Bosch Group Inc., Bose, BP, Lockheed Martin, Lutron Electronics, Motorola, Omega Engineering Inc., Prilio, Rockwell Collins, the School of Mechanical Engineering and the College of Technology. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) Designing and building a machine as complicated as a Rube Goldberg is demanding but the rewards are tremendous and to be hired by one if the following companies because of your achievements is something to be proud of. The Rube Goldberg competition is not just limited to just college students. High school students all over the country also have the opportunity to participate in the action. Some of the high schools involved include: Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indianapolis; Centerville High School, Centerville, Ind.; Clinton Prairie High School, Frankfort, Ind.; First Baptist Church School, Mishawaka, Ind.; Greenfield-Central High School, Greenfield, Ind.; Highland Senior High School, Anderson, Ind.; and Kouts High School, Kouts, Ind. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The winners of the contests have appeared on national television shows such as “This Morning” on CBS, “Good Morning America” on ABC, “Today” on NBC, “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” the Fox News Network CNN and even some appearances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with David Letterman” (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest)

Friday, March 19, 2010

If one were to look up Rube Goldberg in the dictionary, they would get two definitions. Usually, when asked to look up a single person, one would get a brief description of the person, if that person was important enough to be in the dictionary. In the case of Rube Goldberg, we get more than just that. Webster defines Rube Goldberg as a: “US cartoonist of comically involved contrivances.” Webster also defines Rube Goldberg as “designating any very complicated invention, machine, scheme, etc. laboriously contrived to perform a seemingly simple operation.” Designating any complicated invention is an excellent way for physics students and teachers to learn physics principles through hands-on learning. Building a Rube Goldberg can do just that. Knowing the history behind the man can also help one learn where many of our modern conveniences come from as well. **When learning hands-on, students feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is complete and are able to transfer experiences to other learning situations; designing and building a Rube Goldberg enables students to learn more about physics principles.** Ruben Lucius Goldberg was a cartoonist, artist, writer and engineer that changed the American’s perception of the oncoming machine age at the turn of the twentieth century. He was born on July Fourth, 1883 to Hannah and Max Goldberg. (Wolfe) Hannah died when Rube was just a young teen leaving his father to take car of him and his two bothers and one sister by himself. Max Goldberg emigrated from Prussia to New York during the Civil War and eventually found work in San Francisco. (Wolfe) Max dealt with real estate, banking and politics that helped the west become more established like the east at that time in United States history. He sent Rube to the prestigious Lowell High School in Sam Francisco. Rube was very passionate about drawing at a young age. When he was eleven, he went to drawing and painting classes at night with Charles Beall for 50 cents a class. (Wolfe) He attended class religiously every day for three years. However when he told his family that he wanted to be an artist, they were upset that he wanted to turn his hobby into a profession. Max tried to dissuade him from ruining his life in an art career, and talked to him about getting an engineering degree. Mining engineers on the west coast were getting paid top dollar at the time and it was a lucrative career choice. (Wolfe) The world’s greatest artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, were first trained as engineers, so Rube got into the School of Mining Engineering at University of California in Berkeley. During his time at Berkeley, he worked as a cartoonist and writer for student magazine //The Pelican//. (Wolfe) He graduated in 1904 and got a job at the San Francisco City Chief Engineer’s Office with a lucrative $100 per month salary. The knowledge he learned at engineering school and with inspiration from his professors, he created cartoons that revolutionized American culture at the time. Rube Goldberg created a character name Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, who created inventions in his cartoons. He was directly modeled from Rube’s professor of analytical mechanics and physics. It’s modeled after Professor Slate, who created a machine called a “Barodik.”(George) It was a contraption that looked like a system of tubes, hoses and random pieces of dental tools. The contraption was designed to calculate the weight of the earth. Everybody in the class received an A, because nobody actually knew what the actual weight of the earth was. This quirky machine helped Rube launch his war against inefficiency and problems that plagued the common man. He quit his job as an at the Engineer’s Office to pursue his passion for cartooning. He got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle for $8 dollars a week. As he gained popularity among readers he got a raise to $10 dollars a week. (Wolfe) Searching for more recognition and to take his work to another level, decided to go to New York, where the newspaper industry was booming and cartoonists were often used as weapons in a war of politics. However despite his popularity in San Francisco, he went largely unnoticed in New York. He was jobless for a few weeks until he got a job as a sports artist for the //New York Evening Mail.// Rube didn’t start getting noticed until he came out with his cartoon series, //Foolish Questions// in 1909. (Wolfe) The premise of the series were questions that can be answered with a “no duh” answer and clever cartoons that depicted the scenario. The series ran from 1909 all the way until 1934 and became a popular board game. Rube went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for his political cartoons published by the New York Sun. (George) Also, in 1915 and 1916, Rube created short animated cartoons that had thousands of hand-made illustrations in each film. He also worked to publish cartoons in newspapers all around the world. His work extremely popular, and was earning $100,000 a year. (George) The series that inspired the idea for modern day Rube Goldberg inventions are because of Rube’s best known series, “The Inventions.” (Wolfe) It was published in and inspired by the Machine Age of American History. The railroad, automobile and telephone where the latest commodities that industrialized the American economy. Everyone was trying to invent the next light bulb or new consumer product that would help them become rich, like Thomas Edison. His drawings were labeled in increments from “A” to “B” to “C” so that the reader could follow which direction to invention takes. His inventions were designed to solve the problems that plagued the common man and inventions that compressed time. For example, shorten the time it takes for a flower to grow or for the sun to heat water. In addition to “The Invention” comic strip, Rube also published the “Weekly Invention.” (Wolfe) One of his cartoons illustrates a way to solve gas problems. The description of the cartoon reads as follows: “The driver opens trapdoor(A)- monkey(B) reaches for banana(C) upsetting basket of cotton(D)-ducks(E) mistaking cotton for snow, think winter has arrived and fly south, pulling car forward….P.S-These are vitamin-fed superducks.” (George) Although this idea is farfetched and impossible due to the fact that we can’t genetically make super ducks that can pull a car, and it’s impractical to put those useless steps to solve the gas problems we have with cars. However we have taken that idea of saving on gas by make fuel efficient cars and nozzles that squeeze miniscule drops of gas instead of guzzling. Rube had other ideas that we now have inventions for such as his automatic garage door opener. It had steps A-Q that describe a system in which you pull up to your garage and the door will open for you. It opened with a system that used kinetic energy and it was a cartoon that had parts which were not ideal, however today we have a garage door opener that automatically opens your garage door from inside your car. In engineering, Rube Goldberg machines are a staple of hands on development. There are many key elements that contribute to its applications to engineering. Every Rube Goldberg machine is designed differently and works in different ways. The components of a Rube Goldberg include many simple machines such as inclined planes, pulleys, levers, wedges, wheels and even gears sometimes. When one would attempt to make one they would need to have a basic knowledge in how to build these and an idea for a simple task to accomplish. It is all accomplished with hands-on learning skills associated with building such a machine. This is the best way for physics teachers to teach simple machines and complex machines to students. With hands-on learning, students who have difficulty in the learning area because of disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) can mostly be found to be on task more often because they are // part of // the learning process and not just spectators. (Haury) Students in a hands-on science program will feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed, remember the material better, and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning situations. (Haury) When more than one method of learning is accessed as in hands-on learning, the information has a better chance of being stored in the memory for useful retrieval. (Haury) This method of learning also stimulates the minds of students who show little interest in school and makes the project or operation fun for that student. (Haury) Building a Rube Goldberg is the best way to accomplish this in the physics classroom. There is an old Chinese Proverb that says: I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. (Haury) With science, if it isn’t learned hands-on, the concepts will be difficult to understand, thus a Rube Goldberg is a great way for students to learn designing and building principles with a sense of accomplishment. Students at Perdue University have been feeling this sense of accomplishment for 27 years now. Every year they hold an event they call a Rube Goldberg Inefficiency contest. The task is laid out for the teams, such as put batteries in a flashlight or shred sheets of paper, toast bread, makes coffee, and clean and peel an apple, however it must take as many unnecessary components as possible to accomplish. Teams also receive points based on creativity, complexity and ingenuity. (Purdue Students Excel in Rube Goldberg Inefficiency Competition) The team that won on March 6th, 2006 used 215 steps to shred five sheets of paper. The Purdue University Society if Professional Engineers spent a total of about 4,000 hours on their machine. Team leader Jordan said, “It’s a great feeling because we had a lot of challenges this year.” (Purdue Students Excel in Rube Goldberg Inefficiency Competition) Jay Gore, the Vincent P. Reilly Professor in Mechanical Engineering said, “The Rube Goldberg contest encourages young people to use their creativity and education to create a working machine- and have fun doing it.” The winner will move onto nationals held at Perdue. In the most recent competition in on Jan 30, 2009, teams had the task of changing a light bulb in 20 steps or more. However the task is more complicated than just changing the light bulb. The light bulb must be replaced with a more energy-efficient, light-emitting design. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The event usually draws a crowd of over 1,500 people. The machines must run through two successful runs and teams will lose points if the machine needs assistance after it has started. In 2008, the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers won the regional contest for the fourth time in a row by assembling a hamburger in 101 steps and went on to win nationals. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The event is sponsored by many companies that hire engineers and their achievements mark a significant accomplishment on their resume`. Such sponsors that watch the event are BAE systems, Bosch Group Inc., Bose, BP, Lockheed Martin, Lutron Electronics, Motorola, Omega Engineering Inc., Prilio, Rockwell Collins, the School of Mechanical Engineering and the College of Technology. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) Designing and building a machine as complicated as a Rube Goldberg is demanding but the rewards are tremendous and to be hired by one if the following companies because of your achievements is something to be proud of. The Rube Goldberg competition is not just limited to just college students. High school students all over the country also have the opportunity to participate in the action. Some of the high schools involved include: Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Indianapolis; Centerville High School, Centerville, Ind.; Clinton Prairie High School, Frankfort, Ind.; First Baptist Church School, Mishawaka, Ind.; Greenfield-Central High School, Greenfield, Ind.; Highland Senior High School, Anderson, Ind.; and Kouts High School, Kouts, Ind. (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) The winners of the contests have appeared on national television shows such as “This Morning” on CBS, “Good Morning America” on ABC, “Today” on NBC, “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” the Fox News Network CNN and even some appearances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Late Show with David Letterman” (Teams to Vie for Brightest Idea at Regional Rube Goldberg Contest) So one question still remains…What actually goes into making a Rube Goldberg? The answer is anything and everything you want to make it operate. If you type in Rube Goldberg Machines on YouTube, you get a wide array of different machines people invented that are unique in their own way. For example, there is a music video called “Ok Go” produced by James Frost. The entire video is an elaborate Rube Goldberg that moves according to the beat of the song. To start off, the machine is started with dominoes which knock off a string that keeps a car with potential energy to knock a billiard ball that hits another string on a book that releases a counterweight that presses play on an iPod. (Frost) This is just the first five steps of the contraption but a lot of engineering goes into making it work. The entire machine is comprised of over 100 different entities and contraptions that continue the flow of energy. Other parts of the machine include: counterweights, rotating pendulums, compression springs, inclined plane, zip line, pulley, mousetraps, and a wedge to name a few. (Frost) The goal of the machine was to splash paint on the artists’. While building their Rube Goldberg the artists must have learned much about kinetic motion, velocity, equilibrium and vectors in addition to knowledge of simple machines. Principles of statics are used as a standard and they must have felt a huge sense of accomplishment when all the components worked to complete their goal. The statics and equilibrium concepts that go into making a Rube Goldberg helps students learn more about them. Statics is the study of bodies at rest. (Statics and Equilibrium) So if a hot wheels car is at rest on an inclined plane with a string holding it in place it has several forces acting on. The string holding the hot wheels car is at maximum tension. This means that before any forces are acted upon it, the vector sum equals zero. F=MA=0. All the forces in the right, left, top and bottom, remain at rest. The same concept applies for the hot wheels car. However when an outside force, like the domino in the “Ok Go” music video knocks the string loose, the forces in the X and Y positions change. The only force the string exerts is weight because we assume it is weightless. The tension is removed once it is knocked loose and the car at rest no longer has an outside force of the string to hold it in place. At that point, we’ll call point B, there is a force of gravity in the down Y direction of 9.81 m/ and a normal force in the up direction that balances the car. However the force in the back X direction is now less than that of the force of gravity and the angle of the inclined plane. So the car continues in motion until it makes contact with the billiard ball. From there the kinetic energy is transferred for the car to the ball, which is also on an inclined plane. We can determine the acceleration of the car and ball by using the formula: a=m*g*sin. (Statics and Equilibrium) So if the car weighs 5kg and the angle of the incline is 35 degrees, we can use trigonometry to find the acceleration. If the height of the plane is 60 millimeters, we can use the formula csc(35)= H/60. We get a length for the hypotenuse of 1.71 meters. 33.55 m/s. This is the type of math that is considered and is able to be taught to students, hands-on, through the invention of a Rube Goldberg and this is only the second component of the Rube Goldberg in the music video! In addition to learning trigonometry, statics, and acceleration; students can learn more about physics entities such as force, equilibrium, tension, free bodies, vectors, velocity, curvilinear and linear motion, displacement and gravity. In addition, it makes learning physics fun. The physics principles that can be learned through the development of a Rube Goldberg Machine are substantial. It not only makes these ideas understandable, but by building it with hand-on creativity the mind can understand the principles better than a textbook can. Students and other people looking to further their knowledge about physics will also feel a huge sense of accomplishment after they complete their task. When the elaborate physics machine finishes its task and completes the end goal, one will feel a sense of accomplishment along with a greater knowledge of physics principles that comes with a hands-on project such as a Rube Goldberg.