The Light Bulb!“ Just to let you know you have a good idea”

By: Heather Boynce, Chanci King, and Austin Graham

Step 1:• A golf ball starts on the top

of a 19 in. ramp having potential energy and rolls down the ramp gaining kinetic and rotational energy.

• mgh = ½ mv2 + ½ Iw2

• Once at the bottom, the golf ball hits a wooden block and knocks it over, where the conservation of momentum is reserved between the ball and block.

• Mvball = mv’ball +mv’wood• Vball – vwood = -(v’ball – v’wood)

Step 2 and 3:• The block pulls a string which releases a tennis

ball with potential energy.• The tennis ball rolls down a pipe gaining kinetic

and rotational energy.• mgh = ½ mv2 + ½ Iw2

• The tennis ball is projected onto a balancing piece of wood with some velocity and makes the wood unbalanced so that it tilts one end downward.

Step 4 and 5:• When the unbalanced wood

tilts one end down, the other end rises and pulls on a string.

• The other end of the string is attached to small rod which holds up a lever. The string pulls the rod out from under the lever causing it to fall.

• Once the lever falls it gains kinetic and rotational energy and lands on a mouse trap causing it to snap.

• As the mouse trap snaps, it pulls another string. This string is attached to a light bulb and causes the bulb to turn on.

Design and Construction Issues:

• The paper clips used to hold the pipe in place on the wood posts slows the tennis ball down as it goes down the slope.

• When the tennis ball is projected onto the balanced wood it has to hit in the right spot so that it does not fly off.

• Developing our contraption to incorporate the four required concepts.

• Adding support to the balanced wood so that the tennis ball rolls down the desired direction.

Conclusion:• During this project, we incorporated what

we learned this semester using calculations and concepts from class to build our very own overly-complicated device.

½ I w2

19 in.

mgh

½ m v2

mgh

2.5 in. ½ mv2

mgh

½ Iw2