Design A Ride

Introduction

Welcome: Coaster Crazy--A Roller Coaster Webquest 
Description: This WebQuest is about the physics and mathematics behind roller coaster design. Students will create a product to demonstrate their understanding at the end of the WebQuest. 
Grade Level: 4
Curriculum: Science
Keywords: Velocity, Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Acceleration, Constant Speed, Force, Friction, Inertia, Momentum, Negative Acceleration, Slope, Scale Model, Length, Width, Height

 

You are climbing up the hill to the first drop. The car reaches the top and slowly starts to increase in speed as it goes screaming down the hill going 60 miles an hour. Your stomach has dropped to the pit of your belly, your feet are planted firmly on the floor. It twists, it turns, it goes in circles. In about 30 seconds to a minute the trill is over! 

Roller coasters are designed to move themselves around the track without any form of fuel. How can the roller coaster get around all of those loops, turns, twists, without any assistance? The laws of physics help us explain how the roller coasters get around the track.

What is the history behind roller coasters and how they have developed to todays thrill rides? How do the laws of physics affect roller coaster designs? If you could develop your own roller coaster for a theme park, what would it look like?
Task
 

You have been hired by Slick Flags to create a new roller coaster for their theme park. Your team must create a roller coaster that the owners of Slick Flags would give a thumbs up rating depending upon the thrill and innovation of the roller coaster.

 

In order to create a good design, you must be able to describe the history of roller coasters, the physics behind your coaster, and how you can prove mathematically that will be a great thrill ride and be safe.

 

Your team will consist of 3 people; a historian, a physicist, and an engineer. Each role is equally important because of its impact on the final design of your roller coaster. Remember, your coaster will be evaluated on each of the factors and each team members' ability to discuss all three portions as well as the construction of the coaster model.
Process

n your team of 3 each person will choose their specific and important role. The roles are historian, physicist, and engineer. Each person has specified steps and information they must gather. NOTE: Even though you have only one role, each member is responsible for knowing the information so each day you must teach each other what you have learned. This is why taking good notes will be helpful to your group.

 

Step 1: Each member will keep an Information Journal. Each activity has a list of questions you must answer, information you must gather, or things you must do in your Information Journal.

 

Step 2: You will complete the first steps as a team.

1) In your Information Journal answer the following questions to assess your prior knowledge:

a) What have been your experiences on roller coasters?

b) What have you felt when you were on the roller coasters?

c) What forces and motion were you feeling on the roller coasters?

 

2) Watch the video called "Build it Bigger: Kinetic Madness" from http://science.howstuffworks.com/roller-coaster1.htm and answer the following questions about the video:

a) From watching the video, what do you think potential energy is?

b) What do you think kinetic energy is?

c) Any other information you must consider when designing your coaster?

 

Step 3: Choose your role and complete the information below about your job. Be sure you record the information you collected in your Information Journal.

Historian: The historian collects and analyzes historical information including facts, data, and statistics. Visit the links below and answer the questions in your Information Journal.

1. Go to website to find links to research the history of roller coasters. What was the name and speed of the first coaster built at Coney Island? Using the information from this web page and the two others below, create a time line using Timeliner or Microsoft Word that includes details such as name, date, and design. Include a paragraph about what has been the greatest reason or influence for this evolution.

Other websites:

Thrill Ride

 

Ultimate Roller Coaster Database

Evaluation
Evaluation Rubric
  Beginning 1 Developing 2 Very Good 3 Exemplary 4 Score
Your individual product: time line, or vocab list, or document. Did not use information from all listed websites. Did not demonstrate understanding of the material. Has minimal information from each website. Demonstrated minimal understanding of material. Has a good amount of information from the websites. Work demonstrates a good amount of understanding of material. Has a great amount of information from the websites. Work demonstrates a clear understanding of the material. %20
Created Roller Coaster has requirements. Coaster has 0 - 2 of the requirements. Coaster has 3 of the five requirements. Coaster has 4 of the five requirements. Coaster has 5 of the five requirements. %20
Labeled and can explain the physics vocabulary behind the roller coaster. 0-6 labels of the vocabulary. Can explain less than 50% of the vocabulary words. Has 7 labels of the vocabulary. Can explain 50% of the vocabulary. Has 8 labels of the vocabulary. Can explain 75% of the vocabulary. Has 9-10 labels of the vocabulary. Can explain 90-100% of the vocabulary. %40
Mathematics of the project. Students did not calculate the average speed of their coaster. Students calculated the average speed of their coaster with some large mistakes. Students calculated the average speed with some minor mistakes. Students accurately calculated the average speed of their coaster. %20
Total Score: %100
Conclusion

Roller Coasters have been a large part of our history in the United States. The development of new roller coasters happens every year with new and greater ideas. Children and adults alike spend time every year getting their thrills from theme parks with the greatest roller coasters!

 

Understanding the physics behind the roller coasters will help you appreciate the brilliance of the coaster's design engineers. They must consider so many factors to be sure that the ride is fun, not frightening. What a tight rope to walk!

 

Hopefully this quest has allowed you to answer the questions: Why does my belly turn around in circles on the ride? How does the coaster stay on the track? How is the coaster propelled without any external forces? Are coasters safe, especially those that go upside down? Why do people stand in line for hours to ride one ride?

 

Please take the time to share with your parents what you have learned.  I am sure they will be impressed with what you know about the physics of a roller coaster!