Name: ________________________

Roller Coaster Physics Student Packet An Exploration of Energy as it Applies to the Science of Roller Coasters

Based on the North Carolina 2012 Standard Course of Study, 7th Grade Science Coordinates with the Roller Coaster Physics Power Point Presentation

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Roller Coaster K-W-L Chart

What I Already Know What I Want to Learn What I Learned

Roller Coaster Physics Anticipation Guide2

Directions:1. Respond to each statement below before the activity with a “T” for true or a “F” for false.2. Complete the activity3. Respond to each statement after the activity with a “T” for true or a “F” for false.4. Rewrite the statements that are false so that they are true.

Before After

1. Mechanical Energy relates to motion and is the sum of an object’s potential and kinetic energy.

2. A roller coaster on top of a hill, about to drop has kinetic energy due to gravity.

3. A roller coaster has potential energy when it is moving.

4. An example of energy transformation is when a roller coaster goes up a hill and its’ kinetic energy changes to potential energy.

5. Roller coasters get faster because friction causes the roller coaster’s mechanical energy to change or transform into heat energy.

Rewrite the false statements below:

Roller Coaster Physics Vocabulary

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Energy: Energy is the ability to do ______________. Energy is anything that can make matter ____________ or ________________.

Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its _____________.

Potential Energy: Potential energy is _____________ energy.

Mechanical Energy: Mechanical energy is the energy that an object has because of its _______________ or ___________________.

System: A system is a set of parts that are ________________ in some way.

Energy Transformation: Energy transformation is the process of ________________ energy from one form to another.

Model: A model is a _______________________ of a system, object or concept. Models are used to simplify and make things easier to understand.

Roller Coaster Physics Think-Tac-Toe

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Roller coasters in the news: Find a current events article related to roller coasters and energy that contains at least one of the vocabulary words listed on page 4 of this packet. You may use a newspaper, magazine, or an online news sources such as CNN.com, MSN.com etc… Highlight the vocabulary words in the article.

Come up with your own idea for a roller coaster physics project. Ask your teacher for approval before beginning. Through the project, identify locations where a roller coaster has *100% potential energy*100% kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from potential to kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from kinetic to potential energy

Build a roller coaster model using materials you bring in from home. On the model, identify locations where the roller coaster has *100% potential energy*100% kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from potential to kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from kinetic to potential energy

Create and perform a play or make a video about a ride on a roller coaster. Include the following parts of the ride in your presentation: *the roller coaster has 100% potential energy* the roller coaster has 100% kinetic energy* the roller coaster is changing (energy transformation) from potential to kinetic energy*the roller coaster is changing (energy transformation) from kinetic to potential energy

Roller Coaster Competition LabSee page 6 of this packet

Make a comic strip/cartoon about roller coasters. Include at least 3 of the roller coaster physics vocabulary words listed on page 4 of this packet in your comic.

Write a poem, song or rap that teaches at least 3 of the roller coaster physics vocabulary words listed on page 4 of this packet.

Make a crossword puzzle that includes at least 5 of the vocabulary words listed on page 4 of this packet.

Make an illustrated children’s pop- up book about a ride on a roller coaster. In the story, identify when the roller coaster has *100% potential energy*100% kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from potential to kinetic energy*is changing (energy transformation) from kinetic to potential energy

Roller Coaster Competition Lab

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Goal

To build the fastest roller coaster with greatest number of centimeters in upward hills using 4 meters of rubber tubing as the track and a bb as the car.

Rules

1. The roller coaster must have at least three hills (downward slopes).2. The first drop should be the longest hill.2. A loop counts as a hill.4. The car (bb) is dropped in the tubing at the top of the first hill and exits into a cup.5. You may use the walls, tables, and chairs to hold your roller coaster.6. You will have ___ minutes to build your roller coaster. (teacher determines the amount of time)

Materials 4 meters of rubber tubing bb stopwatch meter stick or tape measure masking tape cup

Scoring

Did the roller coaster have at least 3 hills? (5 points)

Was the first drop the longest hill? (5 points)

Did the car (bb) complete the roller coaster course and exit into the cup? (10 points)

Time Score 20 minus the number of seconds it takes the car (bb) to complete the course. If the bb does not exit into the cup, the time score is zero.

Number of centimeters of hills (upward slopes)Measure the number of centimeters for each upward slope that the car (bb) climbed and add together. Do not include hills that the car (bb) did not climb.

Total Score

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Mechanical Energy Concept Map

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What is it? What is it like?

Examples What is it not?

Mechanical Energy

Potential Energy Concept Map

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What is it? What is it like?

Examples What is it not?

Potential Energy

Kinetic Energy Concept Map

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What is it? What is it like?

Examples What is it not?

Kinetic Energy

Daily Essential Questions Each day, draw a picture to illustrate the answer to the essential question.

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How Stuff Works: Rollercoaster HistoryWritten by Tom Harris. http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster10.htm

Teachers can create enrichment, EOG prep and cross curricular activities based on this passage.

Roller coasters have a long, fascinating history. The direct ancestors of roller coasters were monumental ice slides -- long, steep wooden slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet -- that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Riders shot down the slope in sleds made out of wood or blocks of ice, crash-landing in a sand pile.

Coaster historians diverge on the exact evolution of these ice slides into actual rolling carts. The most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea to France. The warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds. In 1817, the Russes a Belleville (Russian Mountains of Belleville) became the first roller coaster where the train was attached to the track (in this case, the train axle fit into a carved groove). The French continued to expand on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of twists and turns.

The first American roller coaster was the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, built in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. The track, originally built to send coal to a railway, was reconfigured as a "scenic tour." For one dollar, tourists got a leisurely ride up to the top of the mountain followed by a wild, bumpy ride back down. Over the next 30 years, these scenic rides continued to thrive and were joined by wooden roller coasters similar to the ones we know today. These coasters were the main attraction at popular amusement parks throughout the United States, such as Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania and Coney Island in New York. By the 1920s, roller coasters were in full swing, with some 2,000 rides in operation around the country.

With the Great Depression and World War II, roller-coaster production declined, but a second roller-coaster boom in the 1970s and early 1980s revitalized the amusement-park industry. This era introduced a slew of innovative tubular steel coasters. Some of the most popular ride variations -- such as the curving corkscrew track -- saw their heyday around this time.

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