Identify The Problem: Roller Coasters are some of the most fun folks will ever experience in their lifetime. The drastic turns and wheels, as well as the high pitched screaming from all of the riders, Roller Coasters are always a delight. But besides all of the fun, scientists and engineers have to ensure that their rides are safe for everyone. They apply their knowledge of the physical world, so that they could design ideas to guarantee 100% safety when it comes to riding their gigantic coaster. We will be designing a Roller Coaster that includes all of these things, and will provide us a got education on physics and all of the different energies (1,1). Although, for our experiment we will only be designing paper made roller coasters, that …show more content…
can last for a long time and will also include Newton’s laws of motion, including most of the different kinds of energies (potential energy; kinetic energy). Also, instead of actual people on a big train, we will instead use a tiny marble that symbolizes what would be the people on a real Roller Coaster. To successfully build this coaster there are numerous pieces of requirements that we have to meets in order to maintain a successful building process. For instance, we must create a blueprint depicting what our coaster would indeed look like, as well as indicating what all of the different materials we used really represent. Our base for the coaster must sustain a size no larger than 45cm*30cm. One very important thing to remember is, once the coaster starts no one can interfere or touch it until it reaches a complete stop; with that in mind there also must be a clear beginning to the ride and a clear ending to the ride (1,2). Lastly, our coaster must be able to withstand an earthquake test, which means we must build our coaster to be strong and not get weak when in situations where there are great forces acting upon it. In real life, engineers build their coasters in various ways. Originally when coasters were first being assembled, wood was the primary use of material when they were being made and tested out. Although, as technology improved and scientists were able to acknowledge more useful materials throughout time, wood became a less primary use of material, and engineers went on to use things like steel or metal. Because of the increase in the use of these materials, the Roller Coasters became much more costly and expensive (cost analysis is something we also have to identify in this experiment) (1,3). The cost of the coasters could also be dependent on the differentiating sizes of the coasters, which became a bigger factor as time went on. Nowadays, engineers strive for the biggest and fastest coasters now that they have all of the technology they need, and innovations in building these coasters won’t ever stop until the ultimate demise of the human civilization. As I’ve states above, we will be applying all of our knowledge of physics in this experiment including, Kinetic and Potential energy.
Kinetic energy typically relates to the amount of motion an object would sustain or have, therefore Kinetic energy is dependent on these two factors: speed and mass (1,4). Potential energy is the amount of stored energy an object has based on its position or height. Therefore, the two factors that affect the Potential energy of an object are: height and weight. Objects with higher speed tend to have more mass, although mass is not necessarily dependant on the speed, therefore changing speeds would not affect it (1,5). In terms of Kinetic energy itself, objects with both high speed and mass would ensure a maximized Kinetic energy; therefore these two factors although not entirely dependant on each other do affect Kinetic energy (1,6). The main idea of all of this, is that we will be using alot of Physics and Motion in this experiment, as they are our main Scientific Concepts (1,7). Motion will be a huge factor when determining if we have built a successful coaster, we will use our knowledge of it to make sure we don’t make any mistakes, and we will get our marble from one end of the coaster to the
other.
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.
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
Rolling a Car down a Ramp Investigation PLANNING When planning my experiment, I will need to take into consideration. the following points: -Fair testing -Equipment -How many results will I get? -What range of variables I will experiment with I will be investigating, by varying the height of the summit of the ramp. is raised off the ground, if the average speed increases or decreases.
1. Annenberg/CPB. “Roller Coaster History” Amusement Park Physics: What are the forces behind the fun?. Learner.org http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/coaster2.html. . April 29, 2003.
The independent variables in this experiment are the height of the ramp, the length of the ramp, the surface of the ramp, the weight of the marble, the size of the marble, and the surface of the marble. The dependent variable is the distance the ball rolls. The controlled variables are the starting position of the ball, the angle of the ramp, and the surface of the floor. Units: The height of the ball from the ground, the height of the ramp, and the distance the ball rolls will be measured in centimeters (cm).
Roller coasters are driven almost entirely by inertial, gravitational and centripetal forces. Amusement parks keep building faster and more complex roller coasters, but the fundamental principles at work remain the same.
In 1961, the US Freedom Rides was quite a significant event that is still remembered by many Americans and African-Americans today. It was the time when racial discrimination and segregation had existed and has had an immense effect and impact on African-Americans. Yet, it had ended after a lot of hard work protesting, campaigning in different areas of America and thanks to some key events that had also helped along with these including the Birmingham Campaign and Martin Luther King Jr’s activism. This event of the United States however is a lot similar to events that had occurred in Australia at the time and is considered to be an inspiration to Aboriginal activism and protest in Australia. The event that took place for the Aboriginal activism
“Even though roller coasters propel you through the air, shoot you through tunnels, and zip you down and around many hills and loops, they are quite safe and can prove to be a great way to get scared, feel that sinking feeling in your stomach, and still come out of it wanting to do it all over again (1).” Thanks to the manipulation of gravitational and centripetal forces humans have created one of the most exhilarating attractions. Even though new roller coasters are created continuously in the hope to create breathtaking and terrifying thrills, the fundamental principles of physics remain the same. A roller coaster consists of connected cars that move on tracks due to gravity and momentum. Believe it or not, an engine is not required for most of the ride. The only power source needed is used to get to the top first hill in order to obtain a powerful launch. Physics plays a huge part in the function of roller coasters. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, centripetal forces, conservation of energy, friction, and acceleration are some of the concepts included.
Roller coasters come in all sizes and configurations. Roller coasters are designed to be intense machines that get the riders’ adrenaline pumping. Ever since my first roller coaster ride, I knew I was hooked. I cannot get enough of the thrilling sensation caused by these works of engineering. When people board these rides, they put their faith in the engineers who designed the rides and the people who maintain and operate the rides. In this paper, I will bring to your attention a specific instance when the operation of one of these coasters came into question and led to a very tragic incident. From this, I will look into the events leading up to the incident and evaluate the decisions made by the people involved.
The objective of the experiment was to discover the effect of mass and radius on the centripetal force of a system and determine the mass of a hanging object using the discovered properties. Centripetal force is the culmination of multiple forces that act on a spinning system. By attaching a known mass and changing the radius on between a center post and the unknown mass, the unknown mass can be calculated. Likewise, if the inverse is tested, with a variable known mass and fixed radius, the unknown mass can be calculated.
The purpose of Scientific Method Lab is to determine which variable mass or height will have the greatest impact on the speed of a sphere. The generalized purpose of this lab is to practice scientific method and to learn how to write lab procedures.
Rollercoasters, the star of an amusement park and an achievement in physics, date back decades. In history there is no doubt that people created countless of amazing coasters. They could be record holders, they could do the impossible or they could inspire the design of many other rollercoasters. Nevertheless they are all made because of our knowledge of the laws of physics. Rollercoasters symbolize how we, throughout the years, can use this knowledge to our advantage. Rollercoasters is a way to express physical science while providing safe (if designed correctly) amusement to all.
The bus that took us to the Theme Park was huge, with room for a
The main similarities and differences between potential and kinetic energy is that they both can be converted into each other's’ form, on the other hand they are opposites because kinetic energy is energy in motion while potential energy is energy that is stored and kinetic energy can be transferred meanwhile potential energy cannot. Even though these two types of energy have more differences than similarities they both are necessary factors that influential scientists across the world have had used to create the laws of
I have always been fascinated by carnival rides. It amazes me that average, ordinary people eagerly trade in the serenity of the ground for the chance to be tossed through the air like vegetables in a food processor. It amazes me that at some time in history someone thought that people would enjoy this, and that person invented what must have been the first of these terrifying machines. For me, it is precisely the thrill and excitement of having survived the ride that keeps me coming back for more.