Factors that Affect the Speeds of Rollercoasters

Factors that Affect the Speeds of Rollercoasters

AIM

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The aim of this investigation is to find out how one chosen factor

affects the speed of a roller coaster car at the bottom of a slope. In

the investigation, a marble is used to represent a car.

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FACTORS

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VERTICAL HEIGHT OF SLOPE (THE HIGHER, THE FASTER)

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GRADIENT OF THE SLOPE (THE STEEPER, THE FASTER)

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AIR RESISTANCE (THE MORE THERE IS, THE SLOWER)

FRICTION (THE MORE THERE IS, THE SLOWER)

VARIABLES

I have chosen to investigate the vertical height of the roller coaster

slope. As the car (marble) rolls down the slope, it can be timed, and

the length of the slope can be used to calculate the speed of the car

(marble).

PREDICTION

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I predict that as the vertical height increases, so will the speed2 of

the car (marble). Therefore, the higher the roller coaster slope is,

the faster the car (marble) is.

SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION

======================

The car (marble) has GPE at the top of the slope, and it has KE at the

bottom. As the car (marble) rolls down the slope, GPE changes into KE.

Text Box: KE = ½ MV2 GPE = MGH

As an object falls, its Gravitational Potential Energy is turned into

Kinetic Energy. The increase in GPE is equal to the increase in KE. As

energy is neither destroyed nor created, it must be equal (where there

are no other energy transfers). From this, I can conclude the

following:

Text Box: ½ MV2 = MGH

Since "m" is present on both sides of the equation, we can cancel it

from both sides, leaving us with ½ V2 = GH. When the above equation is

rearranged, we can see:

This equation shows that mass will not affect the speed of an object, proving that whatever the mass of an object, the speed will always remain the same if all the other factors are kept constant.