| Q: |
What is a step? |
|
|
| A: |
For the purposes of this assignment, a "step"
occurs when one component of your machine interacts with another component
and causes it to move in a way that helps to complete the task of the machine. |
| |
|
| Q: |
If a ball rolls down a ramp, is that a step? |
| |
|
| A: |
No. Because only one part of your machine
(the ball) is moving, this would not be considered a step. The ball
and the ramp are certainly interacting, but the ramp does not cause
the ball's motion. Of course, whatever got the ball rolling must
have been a step, and the ball will presumably complete another step by
making something else move when it reaches the bottom, but "rolling down
a ramp" is not a step. |
| |
|
| Q: |
If five marbles fall into a cup and cause it
to pull down on a string, how many steps is that? |
| |
|
| A: |
One. Even though there are five separate
marbles, because they are all doing the same thing in the same way, they
would be considered as one "component" for the purpose of counting steps.
Similarly, the cup and the string are only counted as one component because
they are attached to one another and move together. |
| |
|
| Q: |
If thirty-five dominoes knock each other over
in a row, how many steps if that? |
|
|
| A: |
None. In this case, all thirty-five dominoes
would be considered as one component, so the action of one individual domino
knocking down another would not be considered an interaction between components.
Again, whatever knocked down the first domino is a step, and whatever the
last domino does when it falls is also a step, but you can't simply line
up 10 dominoes and call it a 10-step machine. (The same is true for
10 books, 10 cereal boxes, or 10 marbles. Any sequence of essentially
identical pieces knocking into each other will be counted as part of a
single step.) These sorts of chain reactions can add a lot to a machine,
but they do not constitute multiple steps. |
|
|
| Q: |
If one bowling ball were to knock over three
bowling pins, how many steps would that be? |
| |
|
| A: |
One. Even if the bowling pins move independently
after the ball hits them, all of those motions would be the direct result
of one single event: "A bowling ball hits three pins." Now, if each
of those pins were to go on to do something else, then those
subsequent
actions would be regarded as separate steps, as long as each pin
did a different thing than the others and each of the subsequent actions
was necessary to complete the task. |
| |
|
| Q: |
What is meant by "causes it to move in a way
that helps to complete the task of the machine"? If a bell is rung
or a pendulum is made to swing back and forth for no reason, is that a
step? |
| |
|
| A: |
Unfortunately, no. Although you are certainly
allowed to include unnecessary actions, and they can even improve the overall
quality of your machine by making it more unique or exciting, an action
is only considered a "step" if it helps the machine complete its ultimate
goal. If the swinging pendulum strikes something else, or if the
sound of the bell somehow causes another action to follow, then the original
swinging or ringing would be counted as a step. However, "dead-end"
actions do not count as "steps"
per se. |