A roller coaster is a machine that uses gravity and inertia to send a train of cars along a winding track. Gravitational forces and centripetal forces make our bodies feel a number of sensations. Sometimes our stomachs feel like they are flipping upside down, or we get very dizzy and feel like we are going to throw up! Every roller coaster I have ever been on has a super steep hill that the cars climb. I love sitting in the front car and being the first car over the hill. Climbing the hill gives the car potential energy that it needs to get down the hill. Once the car is falling that energy turns into kinetic energy, which is what you are looking for when you fly over the top of the hill and down, down, down! As the car hurtles down the hill the roller coaster becomes an energy machine! Gravity is pushing the car down and is completely in motion. There is enough inertia that the car can do several loops and smaller hills before it slows down to a stop. The reason you don't fall out of your seat is due to the centrifugal force. This is a strong force that pushes you down into your seat. Sometimes your head is smashed against the back of the seat and if you try to lift your head, you get a sore neck. Inertia can be stated simply, "objects want to keep doing what they are doing." It's when they are forced to do something different that we, as roller coaster riders, experience the thrill of the ride. It causes us to experience rapid acceleration and the change in gravitational force that accompanies such changes. We find ourselves often pinned against the seat, or feeling like we are floating off of it, because the roller coaster car has decided to change direction (thanks to its connection to the track), but our bodies' inertia wants to keep us going in a straight line. This can be felt on the rapid changes in direction or altitude of the car. Can you think of the opposing force in a roller coaster? Newton's First Law is probably one of the most exciting laws to test....
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |