Preview

Roller Coaster Physics

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
576 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Roller Coaster Physics
As the height of the roller coaster increases, the speed of the marble decreases; and vice versa. When the height of the roller coaster is at it’s peak, the highest point, and the motion of the marble is going uphill; the speed has less kinetic energy than it has potential. The potential energy is being stored up, as the marble’s velocity is at an upward motion. Once the ball reaches the highest point and starts moving in a downwards motion, it releases the stored energy and gains kinetic energy. While the marble is in motion, both the potential and kinetic energy have to be balanced. For example : the top of the second hill contains a 50-50 relationship between kinetic and potential energy. As the ball goes downwards, the kinetic energy becomes more than the potential energy, and vise versa when the ball goes uphill. As an example, positions 1 and 5 are the positions that the object gains potential energy; the speed at position 1 is 38.31 cm/sec, and the following two speeds show the effects of kinetic energy. Position 2’s speed is 150.79 cm/sec and position 3’s speed is 180.95 cm/sec. On position 4, the object gains potential energy and loses kinetic energy because of the uphill motion, speed at position 4 is 155.74 cm/sec; and on position 5, the speed is 106.74 cm/sec. The change in these speeds show …show more content…
The amount of potential energy the structure withheld on the top of the hill, released a great amount of kinetic energy; which then impacted the force of gravity on the marble. The amount of energy that the marble gained from potential energy, was released and balanced with kinetic energy. Approximately 90% of the energy on the marble was kinetic energy, and the other 10% was potential. Previously ending its route, the marble’s potential energy was no longer of great use, as in the marble did not use above 99.99 % of its kinetic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Blackie, a cat whose mass is 5.45 Kg, is napping on top of the refrigerator when he rolls over and falls. Blackie has a kinetic energy of 85.5 J just before he lands on his feet on the floor. I) How tall is the refrigerator and ii) what speed does he hit the ground?…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Projectile Lab

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To obtain a new velocity for the marble, change the angle of your ramp (lower or higher). Then continue to do three more trials with three different angles.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Potential Energy-the energy an object has stored depending on how high the object is from the ground…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    what is the best height that will give the marble the potential energy to hit the target cup. Energy is the ability to do work. Potential energy is the energy of position and kinetic energy is the energy of motion. In order for the ramp to be successful, the ramp had to have the right amount of potential and kinetic energy. If you have too much potential energy than the marble would have too much kinetic energy and the marble would not land inside of the target cup, it will go right over the top of it. If you have too little potential energy then the marble will not have enough kinetic energy and the marble will not land inside of the target cup, it will hit the front of the cup The hypothesis for this investigation was that 200 centimeters would be the best height for the ramp to succeed and for the marble to land directly inside of the target cup. 200 centimeters is the best height for the marble to have enough potential energy to land inside of the target…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wooden Block Lab

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Introduction Imagine yourself riding a roller coaster and experiencing a rush of speed as you drop high hills. To find out how the distance a mass falls affects the kinetic energy provided to a wooden block…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When it is on its way up, it is using kinetic energy since the energy is in motion. When it reaches the top it has potential energy. When it goes down the hill it is using kinetic energy again, this is a simple easy understanding of how they change from one from to another. An example of potential energy within the body lays in adipose tissue, potential energy waiting to be used during exercise, such as running or kicking a ball. Kinetic energy is physical movement in the body every moving objects has kinetic energy.…

    • 1610 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rock is thrown up and hits a shelf to knock a ball off of it. The rock goes from being still to moving so it has kinetic energy. I control how much kinetic energy it has by having the shelf somewhat close to where the rock was sitting on the lever.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mass and Kinetic Energy

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages

    b) What is the translational kinetic energy of the sphere when it reaches the bottom of the incline?…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rollercoaster starts off with an open rectangular box that drops onto a straight track. The straight track heads into a curve. Then, then a straight track that drops onto another straight track. After that, the marble goes from the straight track to the loop. Next, the marble travels from the loop to another curve. The marble goes from the curve into a funnel that drops the marble onto another straight track that makes the marble drop down into another straight track. Next, the marble goes from the straight track to a curve. From the curve it goes onto another straight track. Eventually, the marble goes from the straight track to a curve. Finally, the rollercoaster ends after the marble goes from the curve to a straight track.…

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, to understand how a rollercoaster works, one must understand what exactly defines a rollercoaster. Generally, they have several drops and valleys, loops and turns, which are all traversed through the manipulation of its kinetic andpotential energy. For example, in most situations a roller coaster car will initially be pulled a large hill. As the suspense for the riders grows, so does the potential energy. Once at the top, the ride’s built up potential energy is turned into kinetic energy by the…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Me Like

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    2. Consider the concepts of kinetic energy (KE) and gravitational potential energy (GPE) as you complete these questions. A ball is held 1.4 meters above the floor. Use the terms KE of GPE as your answers. A. When the ball is held motionless above the floor, the ball possesses only gravitational potential energy. B. If the ball is dropped, its gravitational potential energy decreases as it falls. C. If the ball is dropped, its kinetic energy increases as it falls. D. In fact, in the absence of air resistance, the amount of gravitational potential energy when the ball is held motionless above the floor equals the amount of kinetic energy at impact with the floor.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Final Study Guide

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages

    5. Describe the relationship between kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy as a roller coaster completes a trip.…

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    physics

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    If we equate the kinetic energy (KE) of the bob and the ball at the bottom of the potential energy (PE) of the bob and ball at the height, h, that they are raised to, we get:…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Energy Lab

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On November 13th, we did a lab to learn about energy. The definition of Kinetic Energy is energy of movement. The definition of Gravitational Potential Energy is energy in an object due to its positioning. The question that we had to answer was whether of not we could calculate the Gravitational Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy of various objects in different locations. To do this lab we had to first weigh the given objects. For this time, we weighed : a marble, a bouncy ball, a ping-pong ball, a steely, and a foam baseball.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Work, power and energy are always in relation to each other for these three are always present in every motion that occurs. Work refers to an activity involving force and movement in the direction of the force. Meanwhile, energy is the capacity to do work. When one works, he or she exerts energy to be able to do that specific movement or motion. Additional to that, power is the rate of doing work or it is the rate of using energy. In this experiment, the objectives are as follows: to demonstrate conservation of mechanical energy, to measure change in kinetic and potential energy as a ball moves in free fall and to determine the power output when going up and down the stairs.…

    • 1800 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays