Going down waterslides is a fun summer activity, but how much of this rollercoaster-like thrill relates back to basic physics? Before you even get to go down the slide, you must first climb the stairs or ladder that takes you to the top. This may seem like a waste of time and an elevator might sound like a better idea in your head, but by physically doing work to get yourself up the stairs you are building potential energy. This potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as gravity pulls you down the slide towards the ground. Without the initial potential energy, the waterslide would not be as much fun because the kinetic energy produced by the acting force of gravity would not be as strong. Gravity, however, isn’t the only force acting …show more content…
The upward force of the slide pushes almost opposite to the downward force of gravity, which slows your downward acceleration. When the slope of the slide drops sharply, gravity is still pulling you straight down, but the slanted slide is no longer pushing you straight up. Instead, it’s pushing you at an angle between upward and forward. Since the slide isn’t working directly against gravity, you accelerate downward more rapidly. Speed slides and sled slides focus more on up-and-down forces. On a speed slide, you plummet straight down a steep slope and launch into an exit flume, a long canal of water that slows you down gradually. In a sled slide, also known as a toboggan slide, you glide over a series of bumps and dips. In both of these designs, you move forward in a straight line motion. Serpentine slides are different, however, because they have curves. In this type of slide, the structure of the slide is not only working against the force of gravity, it’s working against your own inertia. Inertia is the resistance your body has to changing its speed. When you speed towards a curve, your body naturally wants to keep going
In this experiment we positioned a marble ball on a wooden roller coaster positioned on a physics stand in the sixth hole. Throughout the experiment, we used an electronic timer to record the time of the marble where it passed through the light beam of its clamp. We positioned the clamp at a certain point on the roller coaster and measured the distance from the marble to the clamp; the height of the clamp; and finally the time the ball traveled through the clamp. After we recorded these different figures we calculated the speed of the marble from the given distance traveled and the time. We repeated the step 14 times, then proceeded to graph the speed and the height. Next, we took the measurements of position of the clamp, height, and speed and calculated the potential energy, the kinetic energy, and the total energy. Total energy calculated as mentioned before. Potential energy is taking the mass (m) which is 28.1g times gravity (g) which is 9.8 m/s2 times the height. Kinetic energy is one-half times the mass (m) times velocity (v2). Finally we graphed the calculated kinetic, potential, and total energies of this experiment.
From the figure above, it is also easy to see that the kinetic friction remains almost constant for a range of speeds. This kinetic friction is the force which slows the skiers down after they start moving.
Another science that relates to potential energy is kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy something has because an object is moving. Dropping a soccer ball converts the potential energy to kinetic energy. In all, energy makes things happen which is why energy can also be called the
Ever wondered how roller coasters work? It’s not with an engine! Roller coasters rely on a motorized chain and a series of phenomena to keep them going. Phenomena are situations or facts that have been observed and proven to exist. A few types of phenomena that help rollercoasters are gravity, kinetic and potential energy, and inertia. Gravity pulls roller coasters along the track as they’re going downhill. Potential and kinetic energy help rollercoasters to ascend hills and gain enough momentum to descend them and finish the track. Inertia keeps passengers pressed towards the outside of a loop-the-loop and in their seat. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, and inertia are three types of phenomena that can be observed by watching roller
the length of the slope can be used to calculate the speed of the car
The roller coaster has its beginnings in Russia where during the 1600's. People crafted sleds out of wood and built hills made of ice blocks. The hills had sand at the bottom to help slow down the sleds so they would not crash when they reached the bottom of the hill.1 Over time, the roller coaster has become more complex. They now are taller, faster
Personal Watercrafts or "jet skis" are basically Personal Watercraft (PWC) are basically small inboard boats able to travel at high speeds due to large amounts of power and very light weight. Alomst all PWC's are under 600 lbs and most of todays PWC's have at least 90 hp.Not only are PWC's some of the fastest water vehicles they are also some of the most maneuverable water vehicles. This is because PWC's propultion is based on a jet that also is it's turning mechanism. When the driver turns the handlebars the jet (via cables) turns in the direction of the handlebars so the stern is pushed in the opposite direction. This allows the driver to turn at a much tighter angle than traditional boats with keels and rudders.The main drawback to this maneuverability is the fact that if there is no thrust coming from the engine the ability to turn is effictively zero meaning that anytime the driver presses the kill switch (a large red button) they lose all ability to steer. This is extremely dangerous whenever an inexperienced person may drive the PWC back to dock or into shore. PWC's have no brakes and have no ablilty to stop other than turning around. They have an extremely efficient ability to hydroplane (when most of the PWC is above water) and it takes most PWC's a few hundred feet to come to a stop after being at full throttle. This is because 600 lbs + a rider is traveling at a very high speed with only minimal friction to slow them down (since PWC's are made to travel with very little friction).
A roller coaster is a thrill ride found in amusement and theme parks. Their history dates back to the 16th century. It all started in Russia, with long, steep wooden slides covered in ice. The idea then traveled to France. Since the warmer climate melted the ice, waxed slides were created instead, eventually adding wheels to the system. The first roller coaster in which the train was attached to the track was in France in 1817, the Russess a Belleville. The first attempt at a loop-the loop was also made in France in the 1850s. It was called the Centrifuge Railway. However, government officials quickly diminished the idea when the first accident occurred. Inventors since then have continued to capitalize on people’s love of a great thrill, always trying to make them bigger, faster and scarier!
As a simple case, consider the simulation of document . In the frictionless case, the only force acting on the skater is gravity. Therefore, according to the conservation of energy, the sum of the kinetic and the potential energy remains constant. As the skater climbs the ramp, his height increases. According to document , as the skater’s potential energy is proportional to his height, the skater’s potential energy increases. However, the skater’s velocity also decreases as he climbs the ramp. Again, according to document , as the skater’s kinetic energy is proportional to his velocity squared, the skater’s kinetic energy decreases. The interplay between these two energies is such that their sum remains constant and the law of conservation of energy remains
Before a diver jumps off of a springboard, he does a sort of hop-skip step called a hurdle. After doing a few steps, the diver leaps up into the air with his arms raised. When he lands back down on the tip of the board, he swings his arms down past his legs and then up, leaping into the air and off of the board.
You apprehensively walk up the iron steps and onto the platform. You’re reluctant to go any further, but your friend eggs you on, saying, “It’s not that fast.” You step into the seat and pull the harness down over you. No, this isn’t the latest, greatest technological frontier. It’s a roller coaster. Since 1804 when the first wheeled roller coaster- called “Les Montagnes Russes”- was constructed in Paris, France, roller coasters have been a staple of adventure and fantasy among children and children-at-heart. But there’s no magic involved with these fantastic creations, there’s a plethora of forces and laws governing their every movement. From kinetic energy to inertia, roller coasters are intricate engineering marvels that function through the laws of physics. This is a look into those physics that result in a thrill ride unlike any other.
Interestingly enough, one can actually change their "terminal" velocity. For instance, if Joe were to jump out of the plane and position in the prone, spread eagle position, his surface area would be at his maximum. Thus the terminal velocity he would reach would be lower than the terminal velocity he would reach if he dove from the plane head first. When Joe transitions from spread eagle to the head first position, his surface area decreases, thus allowing for an increase in speed.
I was so excited. I could hardly breathe through the hour drive it took to get there. I was squished between my two ten-year-old best friends in the back seat of a white Saturn, but I didn't care. I was practicing over and over in my head what I was going to say to all the smart-alecky adults who would tell me I was too young to ride the water slides. I was simply going to reply, "Actually I'm ten, going on eleven."
The study of physics and fluid dynamics in swimming has been a field of increasing interest for study in the past few decades among swimming coaches and enthusiasts. Despite the long history of research, the understanding of how to move the human body effectively through the water is still in its infancy. Competitive swimmers and their coaches of all levels are constantly striving for ways to improve their stroke technique and overall performance. The research and performances of today's swimmers are continuously disproving the beliefs of the past. Like in all sports, a better understanding of physics is enabling the world class swimmers to accomplish times never before thought possible. This was displayed on the grandest of scales in the 2000 Olympics when Ian Thorpe, Inge De Bruijn, Pieter Van Den Hoogenband and a number of other swimmers broke a total of twelve world records and numerous Olympic and national records.
I believe that social media has a huge impact on dating. People view the outer part of a relationship differently when they see it over social media. They could also just be known for the right reasons in the relationship or they are viewed as a couple goal but they are not good for each other. Another problem there is people feel their relationship is not meeting the standards set by fake relationships on social media. With social media a person can make a relationship look like a dream.