ELABORATE PHASE: Lesson 5.

May the (M x A) be with you Additional Support Material

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TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION (Lessons 4-5)

Newtons Laws in Motion

Fist law: A rollercoaster in motion continues to move with constant velocity unless acted upon by
an unbalanced force = Frictional forces

Second law: The force which passengers experience when dropped from a great height in a
rollercoaster (g-forces). Calculated by using the mass of the car and its passengers, multiplied by
the gravitational force.

Third law: As the passenger sits in the rollercoaster car, the seat pushes upward with a force equal
in strength and opposite in direction to the force of gravity.

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Rollercoaster Physics

A rollercoaster's energy is constantly changing between potential and kinetic energy. At the top of
the first lift hill there is maximum potential energy because the train is as high as it gets. As the train
starts down the hill, this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as the train speeds up. At
the bottom of the hill there is maximum kinetic energy and minimum potential energy. The kinetic
energy propels the train up the second hill, building up the potential-energy level. As the train enters
the loop-the-loop, it has a lot of kinetic energy and not much potential energy. The potential-energy
level builds as the train speeds to the top of the loop, but it is soon converted back to kinetic energy
as the train leaves the loop.

The coaster tracks serve to channel this force: They control the way the coaster cars fall. If the
tracks slope down, gravity pulls the front of the car toward the ground, so it accelerates. If the tracks
tilt up, gravity applies a downward force on the back of the coaster, so it decelerates.

Since an object in motion tends to stay in motion (Newton's first law of motion), the coaster car will
maintain a forward velocity even when it is moving up the track, opposite the force of gravity. When
the coaster ascends one of the smaller hills that follow the initial lift hill, its kinetic energy changes
back to potential energy. In this way, the course of the track is constantly converting energy from
kinetic to potential and back again.

In most roller coasters, the hills decrease in height as you move along the track. This is necessary
because the total energy reservoir built up in the lift hill is gradually lost to friction between the train
and the track, as well as between the train and the air. When the train coasts to the end of the track,
the energy reservoir is almost completely empty. At this point, the train either comes to a stop or is
sent up the lift hill for another ride.

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TEACHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION (Lessons 4-5)
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Useful Vocabulary/Definitions
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*ACCELARATION The rate at which the speed or direction changes is referred to as

acceleration.
CENTRIPETAL FORCE This is a force that pushes an object in an inward direction. In a roller
coaster loop, riders are pushed inwards toward the centre of the loop
by forces resulting from the car seat (at the loop's bottom) and by
gravity (at the loop's top).
ENERGY The ability to do work. In the absence of external forces such as air
resistance and friction the total amount of an object's energy remains
constant. On a coaster ride, energy is rapidly transformed from
potential energy to kinetic energy when falling and from kinetic energy
to potential energy when rising.
POTENTIAL ENERGY The energy stored by an object ready to be used.

KINETIC ENERGY The energy of an object in motion, which is directly related to its
velocity and its mass. Often referred to as Movement Energy

FRICTION A force caused by rubbing between two objects.

GRAVITY The force that draws any two objects toward one another

GRAVITATIONAL CONSTANT The acceleration caused by the Earth's gravity.

G-FORCE Short for gravitational force. Is equal to the force exerted on an object
by the Earth's gravity
INERTIA The resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion.

*MASS How much "stuff" something has. The mass of an object is a

measurement of the amount of material in a substance.
*MOMENTUM Pertains to the quantity of motion that an object possesses. Any mass
that is in motion has momentum. Momentum depends upon mass and
velocity: The amount of "stuff" that is moving and how fast the "stuff" is
moving
*VELOCITTY A combination of speed and the direction in which an object travels.

*CRITICAL VELOCITY The speed needed at the top of a loop for a car to make it through the
loop without falling off the track.

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*Not Forces!
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