1. EF 151 Final Project “The Finger Breaker”
Team Members
Justin Grundt
Thomas Frederick
Chris Holmes

2. Description
Our Rube Goldberg device incorporates numerous physics concepts (using mouse traps, a Newton’s Cradle, a funnel with tubing, and gravity powered ramps) in an extremely inefficient manner to simply display a University of Tennessee banner via a novelty “bang” gun.

3. Overview of the Device
Mouse trap activates spring arm, which projects marble down the funnel
Marble travels down the tubing and activates switches that release other marbles and a golf ball
Golf ball moves a lever releasing first ball of the Newton’s Cradle
Last ball of the Newton’s Cradle triggers another mouse trap
Fishing line attached to the mouse trap activates the toy gun, which concludes the device’s operation by displaying the banner

4. Elements of Physics Elastic Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy
Projectile Motion
Gravitational Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy
Perfectly Elastic Collisions
Center of Mass

5. Construction Issues Device triggering too early
Constructing a device to fit within given dimensions according to our design
Precision required to build the Newton’s Cradle
Setting time slots to build the device amid busy schedules
Avoiding broken fingers from the mouse traps

6. Conclusion
The Rube Goldberg project was an interesting way to physically display the knowledge gained throughout the semester. Working together as a team allowed each member an alternate perspective to problem solving and opened up a door to a higher sense of ingenuity.