Hello and welcome back to to my blog post. In this post, I will be reflecting on creating a Rube Goldberg machine for scimatics. This machine is created to be a metaphor for the Scientific method. Before we made our machine we had to make a scaled blueprint to know what to do before we built it. During this project I worked with some of my good buddies Carter, Noah, and Luca. This was a really fun project, I would say it has been my most favourite project so far! 

The Scientific method

The Scientific method is an approach to seeking knowledge that involves forming and testing a hypothesis. The scientific method is used for most experiments within science and other fields.

Rube Goldberg Machine

A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that uses a chain reaction to carry out a simple task.

Now without any other interruption lets dive right in!

To start this project we had to complete an activity “Junkyard Wars”. This activity was a competition to create the best Rube Goldberg machine with the most mechanisms using only materials in the classroom. We had about 45 minutes to plan, create, and film our machine. I don’t really remember what we did but from what I can recall we did pretty alright.

We began our MindMap after the “Junkyard Wars.” To do so, we first posed a set of questions about the project, and then each of us developed our own mind map. We compiled all of our previous knowledge about electrical circuits and machines, as well as any questions we had about the project, on this mental map. 

During this time, we also completed the second milestone of the project, which was the electrical labs. In this milestone, we used the scientific method to address three questions with our group. We were able to construct circuit diagrams, use maths, and apply our overall grasp of electricity in the labs using real electricity.

I wasn’t to sure on what to do but my group steered me in the right direction and told me what to do and I did it. Most of the time I didn’t do much besides voice the lines, video the Rube Goldberg machine, help make the machine and a bunch of other things. I felt we had way to much time for this project but that gave me more free time so I’m not complaining. The end of the machine turned out pretty good and Im pleased with how the end project turned out to be. I only have on picture of a blueprint but my team and I collectively combined our blueprints into one final one. (This isn’t the final blueprint and idk where to find it.)

As a group we ended up combining our ideas to form this plan;

 

After my team and I created the blueprint it was time to build! I would say this was the most laid back I’ve been this entire project, I helped build it but not as much as my teammates had but I would like to say I made up for it by videoing the machine in action! I did help voice lines and stuff too!

Four classes later, we were done building, and it was now time for our final step, which was creating the video.

Overall, this was a really cool project! In this project, I enjoyed working with Luca, Carter, and Noah. I found that I was able to collaborate with them well throughout the project. I am happy with the overall understandings that I have learned and the Rube Goldberg my team and I have built. 

Curricular competencies

For my first curricular competency: Questioning and Predicting: Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest. I feel like I’m in between emerging and proficient because I was still in the project helping out and I was curious to see how the final project turned out but I was still fooling around a bit with my peers. For my second curricular competency: Reasoning and Analyzing: Estimate reasonably. I feel like I deserve a proficient grade because I estimated where the marble would land and fix whatever problem arose in the making of the Rube Goldberg Machine. For my third curricular competency: Planning and conducting: Select and use appropriate equipment, including digital technologies, to systematically and accurately collect and record data. I feel like I’m in between emerging and proficient because I definitely helped out with making the board and using my skills to see where the ball would land but I feel like I’m in developing because I wasn’t always on task with the project.  Last but certainly not least my final curricular competency: Scientific Communication: Formulate physical or mental models to describe a phenomenon. I believe I deserve a proficient mark because I made mental visions and guesses to see how the marble would land creating another chain reaction before we set out to do that so my plans could come to fruition.

So, How can we represent the Scientific method? We can represent the scientific method by making a Rube Goldberg machine with mechanisms that represent a metaphor for each step in the scientific method. What factors influence how well electric circuits work and how efficient they are? There are a number of factors to consider, including the voltage, which affects the circuit’s electric current, the amount of resistance in the circuit, and external influences such as your lightbulb being burned out before testing or the steadiness of the hands testing it! There are numerous elements that could play a role. Many things can affect your circuit, but the majority of them can be resolved by understanding current, voltage, and resistance. Until next time, take care!