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Students in Chris Pasterczyk's Advanced Projects in Physics class spent the semester working together to create a Rube Goldberg-inspired project—a machine (in this case several machines) that accomplishes a specific task through a series of complex chain reactions. Nobles students, faculty, staff and parents gathered in Baker Room 215 on Thurs., Dec. 6 to see the project's unveiling. This year's task was to create a tsunami; each machine unleashed a deluge of water onto a small (homemade) island in the center of the classroom.
The "performance" as CP called it, is the culmination of a lot of hard work. In this brief Q&A, Advanced Projects student Robyn White '12 talks more about the project and describes the semester-long process:
Describe what your "piece" of the project does. What was your objective?
After a series of about 15 steps, a bowling ball rolls down a ramp, hitting a cinder block which pulls a string attached to a trash can. Once the trash can is tipped over, water starts flowing down the aqueduct, creating a river flow of water all over the island.
What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was putting everything together. We had really good ideas at the beginning but sometimes we thought up really complicated steps that were nearly impossible to perform. Our team made a design in the beginning of the year and the only step we actually followed from that preliminary design was the first one, due to some roadblocks.
What was the most fun or what did you enjoy most about this class and/or project?
My group (classmates Drew Walker and Matt Edgerly) was the best. I enjoyed working with them and hearing their ideas. We worked really well together and when we brought all our ideas together, we executed it well. We could not be prouder of our final product.
How is this class different from others you've taken at Nobles?
This was a hands-on class…every lab period would be a work period solely focused on this project and it was something we worked on through the entire first semester. A lot of work and hours have been put into this project, to say the least. This is the biggest project I've been apart of. This class pushed me not only in thinking, but in actually building our contraption and using physics while making this machine.