Big Red
(BALL LAUNCHER)
Purpose
• To design and build a Rube-Goldberg
Device.
• To perform a simple task such as
launching a ball.
• To study the physics behind energy
conversion.
The Four Steps
1. The spring launcher
launches the car
down the chute.
2. The car collides and
transfers momentum
to a wooden ball.
3. The wooden ball
rolls down the pipe
and triggers the
mousetrap.
4. The mousetrap
engages and
launches another
wooden ball through
the air.
Energy Conversions
1. Spring Shooter applies a force to the car.
(F=kΔx)
2. The car then hits the ball inflicting part of it’s momentum onto the ball.
(Conservation of Momentum)
3. The ball then uses gravity to roll down the pipe and strike the mousetrap.
(Conservation of Energy)
4. Mousetrap spring applies force to launch wooden ball.
(F=kΔx)
Difficulties in Design and Construction
•
•
•
One difficulty was making our rig stable and keeping it aligned and level.
Another difficulty was keeping our wood from splitting while attaching pieces
together.
The last difficulty was making sure the first wooden ball would travel down
the pipe.
Conclusions
• Through using our device, the wooden ball
is launched approximately 27 feet off a 2’
6” table top.
• All in all, we deemed the project a
success. We fulfilled the requirements of
the project while reviewing past EF 151
concepts and learning to work in a group
environment.