My Little Brother Needs Help

My little brother's 6th grade class is doing a project that involves him building a compound machine using simple machines. My family is going mad trying to help him, but we have nothing. So I am asking for ZU's help in this, here are the rules for the project.

1. The compound machine must be made from at least 3 simple machines.
2. It must be made out of sturdy material.
3. It must work.
4. Must have movement throughout setup (more movement=more points)
5. Must have an index card that explains its purpose and its movement using correct simple machine vocabulary.
6. Must fit on a desk (I assume it is the average size of a school desk)

Please help, I can't stand the insanity anymore.

OK ima help yuou out like you helped me..... Take a roling pin a piece of string and a small nerds box...set next to a bucket filled with water and lower the string attachetd to the nerds bucket using the roling pin,(tie it to the roling pin) roll up the roling pin and the nerds box should have some water in it... any questions?

Originally Posted by Jeaulm

OK ima help yuou out like you helped me..... Take a roling pin a piece of string and a small nerds box...set next to a bucket filled with water and lower the string attachetd to the nerds bucket using the roling pin,(tie it to the roling pin) roll up the roling pin and the nerds box should have some water in it... any questions?

That is only one simple machine. But thanks anyway!

Im stumped......hmm.......

How about a Rube Goldberg-esque machine to, say, pour milk? You get the milk on some sort of pivot, put a glass next to it, and work backwards from there. You'll need something hitting the milk to make it pour, so a ball rolling down an inclined plain might do that, etc.

I'm a sixth grader too, so I think I could help. Or at least....I'll try to help.

First of all, get a straight, wooden plank. Then, attach two trash bins(Or anything else that works) of equal sizes to either side. Now, you have to glue them somehow to the plank. After wards, connect them to some kind of stand. The stand could be anything, from a brick, to a box, to legoes, etc.

Now you've got one simple machine: A lever.

For the second simple machine, you have to attach four small wheels of equal sizes to the stand. This is why I think using legoes as a stand is a pretty good choice. Anyways, you have to attach two wheels to each side. You also need an axle to attach the wheel, I think.

And that's the second simple machine: The wheel and axle

Now for the most simple part. Simply get another wooden plank and make it like a ramp that goes up to the top of the stand. Now connect it to the stand somehow. This is here not only to make it more realistic, but to make lifting heavy objects easier.

That's the final simple machine: The inclined plane.

But how do you use this complex machine? Well, first you have to put something on one of the trash bins. If the object is too heavy, you could use the ramp to help bring it on top of the trash bin. Afterwards, hit the other trash bin with great force to make the object fly to the other end of the room. That, or put another object on the other trash bin and see which one's heavier. The wheels are just there so you could move the machine around.

Well then, that's all I have! I'm sorry if I had any errors, and I'm sorry if this is too much for you. And I'm also sorry if you don't understand what I'm saying. I just woke up, so my brain's not really working well yet.

Do a catapult. Those are always fun.

Doesnt have to be huge. You could prolly find one online,w ith instructions and everything.

Wolfen, I think man_with_thooo's idea was a catapult...

You can tell him to bring a can opener it has simple machines in it. Besides that I got nothing.

Originally Posted by GDwarf

How about a Rube Goldberg-esque machine to, say, pour milk? You get the milk on some sort of pivot, put a glass next to it, and work backwards from there. You'll need something hitting the milk to make it pour, so a ball rolling down an inclined plain might do that, etc.

Originally Posted by Wolfen

Do a catapult. Those are always fun.

Doesnt have to be huge. You could prolly find one online,w ith instructions and everything.

Combine these two ideas, lightly pressing a catapult will, obviously, adjust the angle, and, if the catapult is wide enough turn it into an 'inclined plain' as GDwarf put it.

Originally Posted by man_with_thooo

The stand could be anything, from a brick, to a box, to legoes, etc.

I'm, sorry but every time I read or hear that it really annoys me, having been a huge fan of Lego when I was younger. The plural is lego.

That sounds hard to build a catapult

Originally Posted by GDwarf

How about a Rube Goldberg-esque machine.

Hmmm great idea. Whenever someone says this, I always think "Dominoes". Have you ever played the board game "Mouse Trap"? Well basically it's one large Rube Goldberg machine. Maybe you can string off some ideas from it.

Tell us; what kind of toys/material do you/your brother have? I'll assume you have normal kitchen supplies, but what about legos, dominoes, marbles, magnets, etc... What do you have lying around?

Since this was introduced to us a month ago, could you tell us if the project due date has already passed?

-BGS

Originally Posted by BigGoronSword

Hmmm great idea. Whenever someone says this, I always think "Dominoes". Have you ever played the board game "Mouse Trap"? Well basically it's one large Rube Goldberg machine. Maybe you can string off some ideas from it.

Tell us; what kind of toys/material do you/your brother have? I'll assume you have normal kitchen supplies, but what about legos, dominoes, marbles, magnets, etc... What do you have lying around?

Since this was introduced to us a month ago, could you tell us if the project due date has already passed?

-BGS

Ah right, yes the due date has passed. My brother ignored my attempts at asking you guys for help and instead built a ramp/pulley/car thingy. He uses the pulley to lift the seesaw ramp that makes that car cross a finish line. I thought that your options were better, but he still got an A.

Thank you for your suggestions! I will use them if I have a project like this. ^_^