No Turning Back: Ride the Physics Phantom! www.physicsphantom.weebly.com Lesson #1 The Chills and Thrills of Roller Coaster Hills: Kinetic Madness Lesson #2 Hold on tight: Acceleration and Force Lesson #3 Build it Bigger: Velocity and Distance over Time Lesson #4 Step Right Up: Roller Coaster Challenge! Do you consider yourself a thrill-seeking, roller coaster enthusiast? Have you ever wondered what causes that butterfly feeling while twisting and turning on a ride? Then this is the class for you. Find out what makes a ride so exhilarating that you want to ride it again and again. You will experiment with the interactions between energy, acceleration, and force by designing and building your own roller coaster. Keep your hands and feet inside at all times and buckle up for the ride of your life! Essential Questions: 1. How do potential and kinetic energy interact? 2. How are Newton’s Three Laws of Motion important in the engineering design of roller coasters? 3. What affect does gravity have on our bodies and how we function? Brittany Camut Stephanie Woolard SPED 6402 Spring 2014 East Carolina University
Transcript
No Turning Back: Ride the Physics Phantom!
www.physicsphantom.weebly.com
Lesson #1 The Chills and Thrills of Roller Coaster Hills: Kinetic Madness Lesson #2 Hold on tight: Acceleration and Force Lesson #3 Build it Bigger: Velocity and Distance over Time Lesson #4 Step Right Up: Roller Coaster Challenge!
Do you consider yourself a thrill-seeking, roller coaster enthusiast? Have you ever wondered what causes that butterfly feeling while twisting and turning on a ride? Then this is the class for you. Find out what makes a ride
so exhilarating that you want to ride it again and again. You will experiment with the interactions between energy, acceleration, and force by designing and building your own roller coaster. Keep your hands and feet
inside at all times and buckle up for the ride of your life!
Essential Questions: 1. How do potential and kinetic energy interact? 2. How are Newton’s Three Laws of Motion important in the engineering design of roller coasters? 3. What affect does gravity have on our bodies and how we function?
Brittany Camut Stephanie Woolard
SPED 6402 Spring 2014 East Carolina University
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CONTENT RESEARCH PAPER
“About three hundred million people ride roller coasters each year: Why? It’s simple. They want to be
scared to death. And they’ll pay to do it” (Cook, 1998, p. 8). Roller coasters are not just a modern engineering
wonder; people have enjoyed roller coasters for hundreds of years. Have you ever wondered what goes into
designing and building a roller coaster? While the sheer pleasure of riding a coaster may be simple, it is a
complex machine consisting of thousands of individual components that work together to give riders the
ultimate thrill.
History
According to A. R. Schaefer (2005), the idea of roller coasters dates back to the 1400’s when Russians
passed the long winters by riding down ice slides on sleds padded with straw. In 1804, the popularity of this
pastime made its way to France; however, the weather did not allow for iced slides. To solve this problem, a
French innovator added rollers to the sled. This made Paris home to the first roller coaster that had wheels and
cars. The coaster was called Russian Mountains after the original idea from Russia (Cook, 1998).
The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway became the first roller coaster in the United States in 1873
(Schaefer, 2005). Located in Pennsylvania, it was originally designed to move coal but soon began to attract
thrill-seeking passengers. This inspired an American innovator named La Marcus Thompson, also known as
the “Father of Gravity,” to design a ride meant for passengers (Stone, 2002). Thompson’s first roller coaster
opened on June 13, 1884 at Coney Island in New York City. He became a major innovator in coaster
technology, building many new rides and earning around thirty coaster-related patents (Cunningham, 2014).
Roller coaster mania swept the United States in the 1920’s. Wooden coasters sprung up all over
America as designers competed to build the longest, fastest, and most thrilling rides. At least 1,500 coasters
were in service by the late 1920’s (Cunningham, 2014). As a result of the Great Depression and World War II,
roller coasters and amusement parks died down during the 1930’s until the late 1950’s when Walt Disney
introduced the Matterhorn Bobsleds at the newly opened Disneyland theme park. This represented a
significant milestone in the evolution of roller coaster technology. The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel
coaster. It also pioneered control systems by being the first coaster to safely allow multiple trains to operate on
the same track at the same time due to the use of individual brake zones (Weisenberger, 2013). Popularity
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increased again in the 1970’s due to the incredible speeds, and multiple loops made possible by steel
coasters. Modern technology continues to advance the design of roller coasters while innovations grow
grander with each ride designed. The potential is seemingly endless for roller coaster designers and
enthusiasts.
Design
Joey Toyoshiba, the manager of ride operations at Knott’s Berry Farm (located in California) stated the
following when addressing manufacturers: “They are actually the ones who design the coasters” (J.
Toyoshiba, personal communication, January 24, 2014). A few of the larger and most successful roller coaster
designers and manufacturers are: S&S Sports Power Inc., Premier Rides, Intamin AG, Great Coasters
International, Bollinger & Mabillard, and Gerstlauer Amusement Rides.
There are many different variations of roller coasters but according to A. R. Schaefer (2005), “every
roller coaster has a car and a track” (p. 6). Most coaster cars have three kinds of wheels. Road wheels sit on
top of the track. Upstop wheels sit under the track. These wheels keep coaster cars from flying off at the top of
a hill. The third wheel is called a guide wheel. This wheel goes sideways against the track and keeps the cars
from sliding off during a turn (Schaefer, 2005). Track layouts have different names like the out-and-back,
twisters, inversions, vertical loops, camel backs, and corkscrews. Out-and-Back coasters climb a lift hill soon
after leaving the station, race out to the far end of the track after the initial drop, perform a 180 degree turn and
then return to the station. Out-and-Back coasters usually include camel backs. Camel back is the name for a
series of hills on a steel or wooden roller coaster where each preceding one is slightly smaller. They produce
negative G's or "air time". In contrast, Twisters and Cyclones put more emphasis on high-speed turns, banked
plunges, and whirlpooling spirals, with layered courses that worm in and out of their own structures. An
inversion is any element on a coaster where the rider is turned upside-down. The corkscrew is a twisting
inversion designed like a spiral, while a vertical loop is an inversion in the shape of a clothoid, or upside-sown
teardrop.
The first vertical loop coasters were called centrifugal railways. The loops on these rides depended
solely on centripetal force and inertia to hold the cart on the track and the riders in the cart. The cars did not
have seatbelts or any type of scrap to secure the passengers. The police had to shut one such ride down in
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1865 after the first ride sent through the loop derailed. The vertical loop was tried again in 1895. This time the
roller coaster was built at Coney Island and was titled the Flip Flap Railway. This coaster shared a circular
loop shape with the centrifugal railways that produced intense g-forces (up to 12 g’s) on riders (the most
extreme and strenuous rides of today only exert 4 or 5 g on the body). This circular shape differed from the
clothoid, or teardrop-shaped, loops which are used in modern roller coaster inversions—producing lower g-
forces and less rider discomfort (Amusement Park Science, 2014).
The Cyclone and Top Thrill Dragster are among the most famous roller coasters still running today.
Their designs were evolved from previous coasters and successfully created rides that people will never forget.
The Cyclone opened on June 26, 1927, on Coney Island in New York (Schaefer, 2005). The ride itself is more
than 85 feet tall and has eight hills. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1991 and is still in operation
today (Schaefer, 2005). In 2003, the Top Thrill Dragster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, became
“the tallest and fastest coaster in the world” (Schaefer, 2005, p. 26). The ride includes a hydraulic launch
system and goes 120 miles per hour. The riders climb 420 feet high before dropping back down to ground
level. It cost 25 million dollars to build this 22 second long ride (Schaefer, 2005).
Physics
Roller coasters have had many advances since their inception; however, the basic laws of physics
controlling today’s coasters remain the same. Gravity is the first law; according to physicist Albert Einstein,
“gravity is equivalent to acceleration” (Hogan, 1998, p. 4). A roller coaster that is accelerating pins the rider to
his or her seat just as a person standing on Earth is held to the ground. The force putting pressure on the rider
is the force of gravity, otherwise known as a g-force. One g is equal to the normal pull of earth’s gravity on the
body. Amusement ride manufacturers have collected and studied data on g-forces for years in order to make
rides as safe as possible. When it comes to the higher-g sections of amusement rides, exposure often lasts
fractions of a second. Therefore, the rider does not experience any adverse effects because the force is
extremely brief (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, 2014). Amusement Park
Science (2014) explains gravity and inertia, stating, “When the cars are traveling up the hills, you feel heavier
because your inertia wants you to stay behind and more g-forces are exerted on you. Alternatively, when the
car travels down the hills, you feel weightless because you are falling with the car and are experiencing 0 g-
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forces”. Negative or 0 g’s occur when the vehicle flies over the top of a hill and the load on the passenger
becomes less than Earth’s gravity (Weisenberger, 2013).
Law number two is the conservation of angular momentum. An object has angular momentum when it
is rotating, such as when a roller coaster races around a curved track (Hogan, 1998). Conserving an object’s
angular momentum means the momentum always stays the same. Therefore, if the radius of the rotating
object increases, then its speed must decrease, and vice versa. Engineers carefully design roller coasters to
take advantage of this principle. By tightening the turning radius at certain points along the track, engineers
can force roller coaster cars to speed up (Hogan, 1998). When coasters are built with loops, centripetal force is
created as the track pushes against the wheels of the train and keeps the train moving in a circular motion
instead of flying away in the amusement park (Amusement Park Science, 2014). According to Cook (1998)
centripetal force is an invisible seatbelt for the passengers.
Weisenberger (2013) stated, “Roller coasters are all about kinetic energy, the energy of movement,
versus potential energy, the energy of position” (p. 33). In other words, they operate on stored mechanical
energy rather than an engine. Most roller coasters start with a lift hill, a large hill that has a chain under the
tracks to pull the car to the top. As the car is being lifted, it is building up potential energy. When the car is
released, the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy (the energy of motion) as gravity pulls the car and
passengers back down to the earth (Amusement Park Science, 2014). The maximum speed of a coaster is
usually achieved in one of two ways; with a lift hill or by utilizing a mechanism to shoot or launch the vehicle
from a standstill to its maximum velocity. In either method, stored energy is converted to active energy
(Weisenberger, 2013.) According to Amusement Park Science (2014), potential energy is what the ride solely
relies on; the higher the initial hill, the greater distance there is for gravity to pull the cars and riders back down
the other side.
Conclusion
For many years roller coasters have been the highlight of every amusement park or theme park in the
world. The evolution of roller coasters has advanced dramatically since the 21st century. The goal of design
engineers is to please the rider and attract more people to their creation. “Ride makers have always looked for
ways to make the next roller coaster more thrilling and more unique than the ones before it” (Amusement Park
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Science, 2014, “Inventions,” para. 1). Roller coasters are now a common piece of the American lifestyle and
continue to grow in popularity, design, and most of all, thrill factor!
Experts
After experiencing several disappointments, we finally received a few positive responses to our
inquiries. The replies were received toward the end of last week, however, and we are still awaiting further
communication from our expert sources. Considering that time did not allow us to conduct a full interview with
our expert(s), we have included the name and contact information of each source who agreed to assist us
along with a summary of their response. We are currently awaiting a response from each person to our last
communication.
1. Kent Bachmann P.E. Director- Design & Engineering, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. Office:
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Interaction occurs when two or more objects, forces, or ideas have a mutual effect or influence on each
other. This generally signifies a cause and effect relationship resulting either in a positive or negative effect.
For example, an interaction between wind and a spark can result in a forest fire, having a decidedly negative
consequence. Interactions between antibiotics and bacteria in the body produce a positive outcome because
the antibiotics attack the bacteria in order to cure the illness. Another example of a positive interaction is a light
bulb and lamp. The light bulb needs the lamp to transfer electrical current through it in order to light. Without
the interaction of the lamp, we would be sitting in a very dark room!
Interactions can be in person or through digital communication methods. All forms of communication
are examples of interaction. When two or more people are talking to each other, it is a form of interaction. This
may mean the people are sitting in front of each other speaking or talking through technology. Living in the 21st
Century, technology and digital communication has become more popular and user friendly. People may call
on the telephone, text through a cell phone, talk through a computer, send e-mails instead of snail mail, or
even video chat. This technology allows instant interaction between people who are miles, even worlds apart.
At the same time, interpersonal relationships, which thrive on communication, can produce many interactions
of a physical and emotional nature.
Almost every function of our daily lives involves interactions. Oftentimes, interactions cause a domino
or ripple effect. When we are driving a car there is an exchange of information or feedback between the driver
and the vehicle. The domino effect starts with the driver’s brain. The brain interacts with the rest of the body in
order to operate the vehicle. The body interacts with the car by steering the wheel and pressing the pedals.
When the person turns the steering wheel, it causes the parts of the car to interact together in order to turn the
car left or right. Stepping on the pedal causes the parts of the car to either brake or accelerate.
Amusement parks are meant to interact with people in many ways. The people who visit amusement
parks are entertained through rides, concessions, gift shops, location, characters, and much more. People
interact with roller coasters before even entering the park by viewing promotional information, discussing them
with friends, and anticipating the actual ride. The ride itself makes a person feel numerous different emotions
throughout the course of the ride. Throughout our unit, students will learn how to interact with the visitors that
will ride their roller coaster by designing a ride that will produce the most thrilling and comfortable experience.
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In other words, they will create a roller coaster that will interact with the population’s wants and needs. During
the first lesson, they will determine what it is about roller coasters that make them fun and inviting; they will
discuss what makes people want to ride a ride over and over again. On the last day, their model roller coaster
will be judged based on the criteria they came up with. They will have to interact with the judges, in a manner
similar to how design engineers interact with amusement park owners, to present their roller design, mock-up,
and promotion.
The students will be given a choice of whether they would like to work by themselves or with a partner.
If the students work together they will have to interact with each other and figure out how to combine all of their
ideas into one. If the student decides to work alone, they will still have to interact with the others to share
materials, ideas, and troubleshoot problems during the round table discussion.
Digging deeper into the content that the students will be learning throughout camp, they will discover
and investigate interactions through physics. Perhaps most thrilling, they will discover and observe how forces
interact with the rider throughout the ride to cause sensations of weightlessness, speed, and exhilaration.
Students will investigate how the roller coaster car interacts with the track, which involves a transfer, or
interaction, of kinetic and potential energy. The students will also learn how to ensure interactions between the
ride and visitors remain safe at all times. During day four, they will test their own roller coasters’ safety by
making sure the car travels the length of the course without falling off the track.
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TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
Technology will be an integral part of the camp experience for our students. They will use and have
access to numerous technologies during each lesson and throughout the week. Technology will be used by the
teachers to deliver instruction and interact with the students, while students will use technology to interact with
the lesson content. Not only will we be using different hardware, we will also introduce the students to new
web-based technologies as well as work with some familiar ones.
Throughout the week we will be using a SmartBoard. Smartboards are an interactive hardware that
resembles a projector screen and allows users to view but also manipulate information displayed through a
connection with a computer. The board is touch sensitive, allowing students and teachers to interact with the
board by selecting and moving items, using the pen device to write on it, and much more. The SmartBoard will
act as a projector screen to show our presentations and online videos to the students. It is also where we will
construct, display, and store information in the form of digital anchor charts. The teachers and students will
write notes and thoughts on the board during each lesson and we will have access to these collaborations
throughout the week. During one lesson, the SmartBoard will be a stopwatch so we can time how fast a marble
travels a roller coaster track. The teachers will also have handheld stopwatches for the students, allowing them
to time their own coasters independently and in the case of difficulties with the SmartBoard technology. On the
last day of camp, the SmartBoard will be used to show videos created by the students promoting their final
product. It will also be used to show the results of the judges’ voting.
On the first day of camp, the students will use the SmartBoard, an iPad or classroom computer to
complete a questionnaire on SurveyMonkey. The questionnaire will include questions about the students’
knowledge of roller coasters, what things they like best on roller coasters, and other fun facts to get to know
the student. SurveyMonkey is a web tool that allows users to create a survey and then generates a link for
others to visit and complete the questionnaire. Questions can be posed in a variety of formats including short
answer, multiple choice, rating scales, and checklists. The creator of the survey may log into SurveyMonkey at
any time to view results. One of the features we plan to use allows survey owners to create a graph of the
results. We will display this information on the SmartBoard after all students have completed the survey and
together we will analyze and discuss what aspects of roller coasters students like best.
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The teachers will be using an online resource called Weebly to create a class website. Weebly guides
users through setting up their own website by giving them themes and outlines to follow, making it very user-
friendly. Our Physics Phantom website will include a summary of what we are doing each day, resources for
the students, a blog page, pictures from camp, and the final products of our students. The Weebly site is
intended to be a resource for the teachers to pull information from, for parents to view what their child is doing
at camp, and most importantly, it will be a tool for students to learn more about roller coasters and interact with
their teachers and classmates. The students will also use another web tool throughout the week called
VoiceThread. VoiceThread is a program for creating slideshows with the added benefit of voice narration. The
students will be able to interact with this program by leaving text or voice comments on the slide presentation
enabling them to have a virtual discussion with their peers. We will be using VoiceThread throughout camp to
explore the points to ponder while learning the history and fun facts of roller coasters.
During the week we will be playing various informational YouTube videos to show students, among
other things, different styles of roller coasters from the rider’s point of view. The students will be able to
experience the ride through the video because, unfortunately, we will not be able to visit any theme parks
during camp! Students will also hear commentaries from engineers and physicists about the design of
particular coasters. This will help them decide which features they want to include in their design and what
elements passengers like the most. Some clips will demonstrate principles of physics at work on roller coasters
(such as the transfer of potential and kinetic energy). The students will interact with these videos by viewing
some in class, and some at home by choosing ones that interest them from our Weebly website. Students will
also be able to dig deeper into the content of selected videos through TED-Ed. TED-Ed is a website that allows
you to create lessons and customize discussions from online videos, like YouTube. We will be posting a
summary of each day’s lesson as well as a daily link to a customized TED-Ed lesson on the class Weebly
page. The lessons will feature a YouTube video related to our topic along with instructional text, quizzes, and a
discussion board. Students will be able to review videos at home, show them to their parents, take quizzes to
test their knowledge and discuss their reactions with peers from both classes. Homework will not be mandatory
during camp; however, we will reward students who have logged in and contributed to the discussion with an
admission ticket, which can be redeemed for extra design elements and materials for their roller coaster track.
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Digital cameras will be used throughout the camp week. The teachers and students will use cameras to
take pictures of the design process and development of the roller coasters. The teachers will compile these
pictures in a slide show using Animoto and post the movie to the Weebly website. The pictures will track all the
fun and learning we are doing throughout our four days together. The students will use Flip video cameras for
making videos on the last day of camp. As students’ final product will not be technology based, but an actual
physical model of a roller coaster, they will produce a short promotional video showcasing their ride, explaining
the physics principles demonstrated on the ride, and justifying their inclusion. This will allow technology to be
integrated into the final product and provide a resource for students to present and describe their design to a
panel of judges consisting of experts in the field (via Skype) and local science teachers. The teachers will also
upload the videos to the Weebly website to showcase the final products.
As we dig deeper into lesson planning for our unit, we plan to put technology into students’ hands for
specific purposes as much as possible. Instead of grandstanding with copious amounts of technology during
our lessons, we want to keep it simple and ensure that students are learning from and about the chosen web-
based technologies. As a final note, pending discussions with our various experts, we plan to use Skype or
Google Hangout to conduct video chats with one or more roller coaster experts during camp.
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CONTENT OUTLINE
I. History A. Russian Ice Slides
1. The idea of roller coasters dates back to the 1400’s when Russians passed the long winters by riding down ice slides on sleds padded with straw. 2. In 1804, the popularity of this pastime made its way to France; however, the weather did not allow for iced slides.
a) To solve this problem, a French innovator added rollers to the sled. b) This made Paris home to the first roller coaster that had wheels and cars. c) The coaster was called Russian Mountains after the original idea from Russia.
B. The American Revolution 1. The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway became the first roller coaster in the United States in 1873.
a) Located in Pennsylvania, it was originally designed to move coal but soon began to attract thrill-seeking passengers. b) This inspired an American innovator named LaMarcus Thompson to design a ride meant for passengers. c) Thompson’s first roller coaster opened on June 13, 1884 at Coney Island in New York City.
2. Roller coaster mania swept the United States in the 1920’s. a) At least 1,500 coasters were in service by the late 1920’s. b) As a result of the Great Depression and World War II, roller coasters and amusement parks died down during the 1930’s until the late 1950’s.
3. An important event in roller coaster history occurred in 1959 when Walt Disney unveiled the Matterhorn Bobsleds at the newly opened Disneyland theme park.
a) Built of steel rather than wood, the Bobsleds’ remarkable tubular steel track and hard plastic wheels revolutionized roller coasters and paved the way for modern mega-coasters. b) It would still be another thirteen years before roller coasters experienced a dramatic comeback.
C. New Thrills 1. During the second half of the 20th century, designers turned to more daring elements to thrill passengers.
a) One innovation was a looping maneuver called an inversion. b) Coaster designers also thrill riders by making them feel weightless, a feeling they dubbed “airtime.”
2. Modern innovations include hypercoasters, flying coasters, inverted coasters and liner induction motor coasters.
D. The Great Debate: Wood vs. Steel 1. Steel coasters give a much smoother ride.
a) They are precisely designed and can maneuver high g-force elements and complex inversions. b) Steel coasters tend to be taller and faster. c) The initial cost of a steel coaster is much higher.
2. Wooden coasters are wilder and provide an “out of control” feeling. a) They have tighter and more violent turns combined with the feeling that they could fall apart at any time. b) Woodies generally come in one of two styles: out-and-back or twister. c) Wood coasters may cost more in the long run due to more intensive maintenance requirements.
3. Hybrid coasters are made with a new technology called “topper track” where the top two pieces of a wood coaster’s stack are replaced with steel and filled with concrete.
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II. Design Elements A. Track Layout
1. Out-and-Back coasters climb a lift hill soon after leaving the station, race out to the far end of the track after the initial drop, perform a 180 degree turn and then return to the station. 2. Camel Back is the name for a series of hills on a steel or wooden roller coaster where each preceding one is slightly smaller. Camel backs produce negative G's or "air time". 3. Inversion – any element where the rider is turned upside-down. 4. Twisters and Cyclones put more emphasis on high-speed turns, banked plunges, and whirlpooling spirals, with layered courses that worm in and out of their own structures. 5. Vertical Loops follow a shape called a clothoid, they are not a circle.
a) They resemble an upside-down teardrop. b) Safety and passenger comfort are the primary reasons for the use of a clothoid loop. c) If a circular loop were used, the centripetal force would produce somewhere in the range of 6 g’s.
6. Corkscrews - A corkscrew is a twisting inversion designed like a corkscrew. B. Reaching New Heights
1. Chain Lift - The chain lift pulls the car or train to the top of a hill and then releases the train to coast down a hill where the train accelerates and gains its momentum to complete the course. 2. Hydraulic Launched coasters give the riders high acceleration, yet with improved smoothness, over the electromagnetic and catapult launch mechanisms.
a) An example is Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, which is capable of reaching 128 mph (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds. b) Hydraulic launched rides usually have a tower after the launch.
3. Linear Induction Motors are magnetic motors commonly used to launch a roller coaster train along or up a section of steel track.
C. Pushing it to the Limit 1. Hyper-coasters - A term used to describe a steel roller coaster designed for speed and airtime. Hypercoasters have large drops for speed, have no inversions and have plenty of camelbacks, bunny hops or speed bumps for airtime. 2. Flying Coasters mimic the sensation of flight as riders are rotated into a position where they are lying face down. 3. Inverted Roller Coasters have trains suspended beneath the track above.
a) The first Inverted Roller Coaster was Batman the Ride at Six Flags Great America (1992) and designed by Bolliger and Mabillard. b) Vekoma followed with its version of the Inverted Roller Coaster, but instead calls it a Suspended Looping Coaster.
III. Physics A. Mechanical Energy is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. It is the energy associated with the motion and position of an object.
1. Potential Energy is the energy of position. a) As a roller coaster car is pulled to the top of a hill it is gaining potential, or stored, energy. b) The potential energy for a roller coaster is the greatest at the highest point on the track (top of the lift hill.) c) Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object as the result of its vertical position or height.
2. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. a) As the roller coaster begins its decent from the lift hill, the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy and velocity increases. b) The kinetic energy is the greatest at the bottom of the highest hill on the track and decreases as the car begins to climb the next hill.
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3. The Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy states that the total mechanical energy in a system (the sum of potential and kinetic energies) remains constant as long as the only forces acting are conservative forces.
a) Gravity is an example of a conservative force. b) Friction in a non-conservative force, it acts to reduce the mechanical energy in a system.
B. Gravity is the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth. 1. The force putting pressure on a rider is the force of gravity, otherwise known as a g-force.
a) One g is equal to the normal pull of earth’s gravity on the body. b) Humans experience 2.9 g’s when we sneeze and 3.5 g’s when we cough.
2. Negative g-forces occur when the car flies over the top of a hill and the passenger falls with the car, experiencing a weightless feeling.
C. Acceleration is a change in velocity or speed. 1. Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied and inversely proportional to the object’s mass. 2. The human body can’t feel velocity, only acceleration. 3. The maximum speed of a roller coaster is usually achieved in one of two ways; with a lift hill or by utilizing a mechanism to shoot or launch the vehicle from a standstill to its maximum velocity. 4. Gravity acts to increase speed while friction decreases it.
IV. Safety A. Initial Inspections
1. As roller coasters near completion, engineers begin testing to make sure everything functions properly and the ride is safe.
a) The very first test riders are weighted bags or dummies. b) Some dummies are equipped with devices to measure the forces exerted on the coaster and the rider.
2. Once the engineers have determined that the ride is safe for humans, they ride it themselves to work out all the kinks.
B. Ongoing Maintenance 1. Full-time engineers who work at theme parks inspect all rides on a daily basis. 2. Preventative maintenance can detect problems early and prevent accidents. 3. A ride must be run without passengers several times throughout the day while maintenance crew watch and listen for anything unusual.
C. Passenger Safety 1. Amusement parks have precautions posted at the entrance to rides to keep passengers safe.
a) Obey age, height, weight, and health restrictions. b) Keep your head, hands, arms, legs, and feet inside the ride at all times.
2. Most roller coaster accidents involve passengers not following the rules for their own safety.
*Academic Vocabulary indicated in bold print. ** Content not specifically addressed in the lessons will be included on our interactive display boards and introduced through the enrichment TED Ed videos.
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LESSON #1
The Chills and Thrills of Roller Coaster Hills: Kinetic Madness
I. DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Given a model roller coaster, students will label the track elements and identify areas where potential and kinetic energy is exerted and with 90% accuracy.
POINT TO PONDER If a roller coaster were to operate on a continuous loop, potential energy could change to kinetic energy an unlimited number of times.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do potential and kinetic energy interact on a roller coaster?
CONTENT Outline the content you will teach in this lesson.
II. Design Elements A. Track Layout
1. Out-and-Back coasters climb a lift hill soon after leaving the station, race out to the far end of the track after the initial drop, perform a 180 degree turn and then return to the station. 2. Camel Back is the name for a series of hills on a steel or wooden roller coaster where each preceding one is slightly smaller. Camel backs produce negative G's or "air time". 3. Inversion – any element where the rider is turned upside-down. 4. Vertical Loops follow a shape called a clothoid, they are not a circle.
a) They resemble an upside-down teardrop. b) Safety and passenger comfort are the primary reasons for the use of a clothoid loop. c) If a circular loop were used, the centripetal force would produce somewhere in the range of 6 g’s.
5. Corkscrews - A corkscrew is a twisting inversion designed like a corkscrew.
III. Physics A. Mechanical Energy is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. It is the energy associated with the motion and position of an object.
1. Potential Energy is the energy of position. a) As a roller coaster car is pulled to the top of a hill it is gaining potential, or stored, energy. b) The potential energy for a roller coaster is the greatest at the highest point on the track (top of the lift hill.) c) Gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object as the result of its vertical position or height.
2. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. a) As the roller coaster begins its descent from the lift hill, the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy and velocity increases. b) The kinetic energy is the greatest at the bottom of the highest hill on the track and decreases as the car begins to climb the next hill.
Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall: Mechanical Energy, Potential Energy, Gravitational Potential Energy, Kinetic Energy, Inversion, Clothoid Loop
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II. PRE-PLANNING
What will students UNDERSTAND as a result of this lesson? How does this connect to the Essential Question?
Students will understand the functions of potential and kinetic energy and how they interact during a roller coaster ride. They will also understand that roller coaster designers and engineers choose different track layouts to enhance the rider’s experience (or interaction with the ride). By understanding this, students will be able to answer the essential question.
What will students be able to DO as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to describe how potential and kinetic energy interact on the various track layouts.
III. PLANNING
HOOK Describe how you will grab students’ attention at the beginning of the lesson. BE CREATIVE.
TIME: 5 minutes We will play a video of Mr. Edmonds, a science teacher, singing about potential and kinetic energy. http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=34241&CategoryID=2458 Questions: The law of conservation of energy states energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be__ (what)__? Describe potential energy and kinetic energy. What kinds of potential and kinetic energy do you think we will talk about in relation to roller coasters?
INSTRUCTION Explain Step-by-step what you will do in this lesson. Be explicit about ties to Points to Ponder, Essential Question, and Interactions here. Include ALL support and teaching materials with your unit.
TIME: 60 minutes
As students enter the classroom they will be directed to a computer to take a quick 5 question survey on SurveyMonkey.com. The survey will ask students if they have ever visited an amusement park, if they like to ride coasters, and what is it about a coaster that makes it fun and the best ride. While teacher 1 introduces the hook and leads the discussion, teacher 2 will access the results of the survey and display them on a graph. Following the hook, the teachers will lead a quick class discussion about the questionnaire emphasizing what makes roller coasters thrilling (height, speed, duration, angle of drop, type of coaster, restraining devices, environment, etc.) and makes an anchor chart of their answers. (This information will be used to construct the assessment rubric for the students’ final product) Students will watch the following video of an engineer riding the Mantu coaster at Bush Gardens Africa in Tampa, FL. During the ride he briefly describes potential and kinetic energy while the video shows the velocity and g-force at different points along the track and names the different types of inverted loops and track designs. http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster.htm A brief discussion of potential and kinetic energy will follow the video with the following questions being asked: Can you name the different track designs shown at the beginning of the video? When was the coaster building potential energy? When did it turn into kinetic energy? The teachers will then show an interactive diagram of a coaster with the areas of potential and kinetic energy labeled. It will also show the transfer of energy during the ride as the car encounters loops, turns, and hills. The teachers will lead a discussion about where and how potential and kinetic energy interact on a roller coaster track.
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http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/hew06.sci.phys.maf.rollercoaster/energy-in-a-roller-coaster-ride/ A labeled diagram of a roller coaster will also be shown for students to gain a better understanding of the track elements shown in the video. http://www.rocklin.k12.ca.us/staff/dfix/project_roller_coaster/motion_parts.htm#
Lastly, the teachers will introduce the real world problem that students will be working to solve throughout the week, culminating with a finished product on the last day of camp. Students will be asked to help a fictional amusement park increase its sales by designing a new roller coaster. They will be using knowledge of maximum hill height, speed, angle of descent, safety, and ride duration to complete a planning sheet and draw a sketch of their anticipated roller coaster. They will work with a partner to evaluate each other’s sketches and give feedback on the feasibility of their planned roller coaster. Once feedback is received, students will begin building their coaster with materials provided in the classroom. The design process will include troubleshooting sessions based on daily lessons; students will be encouraged to take notes throughout the week so they know how to create a roller coaster that will be considered safe and fun. The week will conclude with students filming a movie advertising their coaster and requesting feedback about their design from a “roller coaster club” comprised of experts in the field. A “Roller Coaster Challenge” anchor chart will be displayed during the week as a reference for model requirements and a judging rubric.
To give an example of what the students will be producing throughout the week, they will watch a two minute video showing a complete paper roller coaster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UByZhF7siLo another example will be posted to the website for the students to view at their leisure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou1ybdXIy50 As an extension activity, students will watch a video on the history of roller coasters via a TED Ed link on the class website. There will be a discussion link following the video for the students to interact with each other and discuss facts they found interesting about the history of roller coasters. A brief quiz will determine what students know about roller coaster history. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRzjhS549N0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOESYhVZpEY Students will be encouraged to participate in the TED Ed activities at home each day by awarding admission tickets to students who log in and participate in the discussion. The tickets can be redeemed during design time for extra design templates, instructional videos, and expert advice.
ASSESSMENT (Performance Task) What will the students DO to demonstrate that they have mastered the content? Be specific and include actual assessment with unit materials.
TIME: 5 minutes
The teacher will group the students and give them an enlarged picture of a roller coaster (or a model coaster). Each group will have an envelope of note cards naming the different parts of a roller coaster. They will be asked to use these terms to label the coaster. They will also have several cards with the words potential, kinetic, and interaction in order to label the parts of the coaster where each type of energy is demonstrated and where they interact. Parts labels: decline, incline, inverted loop, brakes, station, turn, lift hill, camel back.
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After the assessment activity students will use the remainder of the class time to design their roller coaster. They will use information from today’s lesson to decide if they want hills, turns, loops, etc. included in their design. A “fun” individual sketch will be drawn, with focus on placement of loops and having the “longest ride” (getting their marble to the end of the track).
DOES THE ASSESSMENT ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE STUDENTS HAVE MET YOUR STATED LESSON OBJECTIVE? YES OR NO ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Diagram: http://www.rocklin.k12.ca.us/staff/dfix/project_roller_coaster/motion_parts.htm# Roller Coaster Challenge Anchor Chart: http://www.glogster.com/ecurockstar/roller-coaster-challenge/g-6k434rhtp0no64ro4dt9hd4 Enlarged Pictures of roller coasters Model K’nex and paper coasters on display
LESSON #2
Hold on tight: Acceleration and Force
I. DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Given a handheld accelerometer, students will measure acceleration and gravity-induced interactions experienced during different activities and graphically represent their data with 90% accuracy.
POINT TO PONDER The human body cannot feel speed but it can feel acceleration.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do acceleration, velocity, and g-force interact on a roller coaster?
CONTENT Outline the content you will teach in this lesson.
III. Physics B. Gravity is the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth.
1. The force putting pressure on a rider is the force of gravity, otherwise known as a g-force.
a) One g is equal to the normal pull of earth’s gravity on the body. b) Humans experience 2.9 g’s when we sneeze and 3.5 g’s when we cough.
2. Negative g-forces occur when the car flies over the top of a hill and the passenger falls with the car, experiencing a weightless feeling.
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1. Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied and inversely proportional to the object’s mass. 2. The human body can’t feel velocity, only acceleration. 3. The maximum speed of a roller coaster is usually achieved in one of two ways; with a lift hill or by utilizing a mechanism to shoot or launch the vehicle from a standstill to its maximum velocity. 4. Gravity acts to increase speed while friction decreases it.
Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall: Accelerometer, Acceleration, Gravity, Velocity, g-force (g’s), negative g-force
II. PRE-PLANNING
What will students UNDERSTAND as a result of this lesson? How does this connect to the Essential Question?
Students will understand that acceleration is speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction. They will know that speed, velocity, and acceleration can be calculated, estimated, and defined. During the activities students will discover that the greatest g-forces are experienced when changing direction quickly, therefore making a connection between acceleration, speed, and the force of gravity (and answering the essential question).
What will students be able to DO as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to find out which parts of a roller coaster are the most exciting and why by exploring how acceleration, velocity, and gravity interact during the ride. Students will complete activities such as running a 50-yard dash while holding an accelerometer to test the g-force when they accelerate off the starting block and compare it to the g-force in the at the mid-point and end of the track.
III. PLANNING
HOOK Describe how you will grab students’ attention at the beginning of the lesson. BE CREATIVE.
TIME: 10 Minutes Did you know that the screen of your smartphone changes between portrait and landscape when you turn it because it has an accelerometer inside of it? The teacher may demonstrate with a cell phone to show the screen switching. If a cell phone is not used, an iPad can be used as an example. An accelerometer is a device that measures acceleration and the effect of gravity on an accelerating object. So when the phone is moved from a horizontal to a vertical position, for instance, the accelerometer interacts with the computer inside the phone, telling it to switch the view. Today you will use a handheld accelerometer to measure acceleration and g-forces during different activities around the school. First, we will watch "Roller Coaster Design by Aditya and Tyler." They are both roller-coaster fans and wanted to find a way to figure out which amusement park ride had the most thrills. Let’s see how they use accelerometers to figure it out. http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/rollercoasterdesign.html
INSTRUCTION Explain Step-by-step what you will do in this lesson.
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Be explicit about ties to Points to Ponder, Essential Question, and Interactions here. Include ALL support and teaching materials with your unit.
Unfortunately we cannot take you to visit an amusement park today, but if we could you would be able to use these handheld accelerometers to test g-forces on different rides such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels, and many more. Instead, we are going to use the accelerometers to test g-forces experienced during different activities around the school (on playground equipment, a 50 yard dash, jumping, balance beam, miniature trampoline and being pulled on a coaster/skateboard with a bungee cord). After returning to the classroom, we will compile the results and create a digital graph showing which activities had the greatest g-force.
1. Examine the first “ride” you are going to ride and decide where you are going to test the g-forces. Just like Aditya and Tyler, think about times during the activity where there will be changes in direction or speed. Record your choices and predictions in your lab notebook in a data table like the one shown below.
2. Do the activity with a helper and test the g-forces. Make sure to put your wrist through the wrist strap for safety. Hold the accelerometer vertically against something so that it doesn't fly around too much. One person can read the accelerometer and then both people can remember the information. As soon as you finish the activity, write your results in your lab notebook.
3. Repeat your measurements at each location at least three times and remember to note down all of your findings in your lab notebook.
Activity Time during the
Activity g-force
1 Ex: 50 yard dash
PREDICTION:
1 Ex: Beginning
2
3
As an extension activity, students will watch a video on Newton’s 3 Laws of motion via a TED Ed link on the class website. There will be a discussion link following the video for the students to interact with each other and discuss how Newton’s laws relate to our inquiry discoveries and which law applies to which. A brief quiz will determine what students
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know about which laws apply to roller coaster design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QpF3m02rGI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrD3uo5DXNM
ASSESSMENT (Performance Task) What will the students DO to demonstrate that they have mastered the content? Be specific and include actual assessment with unit materials.
TIME: 10 minutes The students will choose one activity and plot their data on a bar graph. They will label the x-axis Location and the y-axis g-forces. They will make the graph online, at the following website: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/CreateAGraph/default.aspx Students will verbally respond to the following questions: How do the results compare with your predictions? Which locations had the higher g's? Why do you think that these locations had the higher g's? Was the “ride” with the most g's the most thrilling?
Students will use the remainder of the class period to begin constructing the initial ramp of their roller coaster. This design will be tested on day three. Students will be provided with file folders, cardstock, and templates to begin constructing their roller coaster. They will also have a laptop at their work station where they can view instructional videos that will be linked from our class website.
DOES THE ASSESSMENT ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE STUDENTS HAVE MET YOUR STATED LESSON OBJECTIVE? YES OR NO ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Instructional Videos: Paper Roller Coaster Construction Tips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsPsG1U31CI How to make paper columns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZGfFdcMSpY How to make and attach horizontal beams http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3VHkkJJW-M How to make and attach the diagonal supports http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09U6Nc61TyI How to make the paper tracks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBh4vRoa4yg How to make the paper loops http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zklw-3-S2WU How to make the shelves that support the track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdpKlZgUck How to make the turns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeJqJLb-IXM **Videos being reserved for rewards: How to make the funnel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhnbWmd_U00 How to make the merge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HBn6rQLyGg Materials: Digital photographs and templates for printing onto cardstock will be purchased from the following site: http://www.paperrollercoasters.com/products.htm Students will be provided with templates, scissors, and rulers for cutting out and folding the parts they will use to assemble their coasters. Online Graph Maker: http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/CreateAGraph/default.aspx
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LESSON #3 Build it Bigger: Velocity and Distance over Time
I. DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Given a paper roller coaster track, students will find the speed of a marble at different positions on the track and calculate the average speed of the marble during the entire trip with 90% accuracy.
POINT TO PONDER The higher the initial drop of a roller coaster, the faster the ride.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How does changing the height or the length of a hill of a roller coaster interact with and affect the speed of the marble?
CONTENT Outline the content you will teach in this lesson.
III. Physics A. Mechanical Energy
3. The Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy states that the total mechanical energy in a system (the sum of potential and kinetic energies) remains constant as long as the only forces acting are conservative forces.
a) Gravity is an example of a conservative force. b) Friction in a non-conservative force, it acts to reduce the mechanical energy in a system.
C. Acceleration is a change in velocity or speed. 1. Newton’s second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied and inversely proportional to the object’s mass. 2. The human body can’t feel velocity, only acceleration. 3. The maximum speed of a roller coaster is usually achieved in one of two ways; with a lift hill or by utilizing a mechanism to shoot or launch the vehicle from a standstill to its maximum velocity. 4. Gravity acts to increase speed while friction decreases it.
Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall: Law of Conservation of Mechanical Energy, Friction
II. PRE-PLANNING
What will students UNDERSTAND as a result of this lesson? How does this connect to the Essential Question?
Students will understand how the height and position of their track as well as the interaction between design elements will affect the speed of the ride. They will discover if they increase the slope of the track by raising the starting point, the speed will increase, while if they decrease the slope of the track by lowering the starting point, the speed will decrease. Through this discovery they will be able to answer the essential question.
What will students be able to DO as a result of this lesson?
Students will find the speed of the marble in different portions of a Paper Roller Coaster. They will also find the average speed of the marble during the entire trip down the Paper Roller Coaster. They will be able to adjust their design to account for the interaction between design elements, position, and friction and how they affect the speed throughout the ride.
III. PLANNING
HOOK Describe how you will grab students’ attention at the beginning of the lesson.
TIME: 5 minutes The students will view the PBS Kid’s Design Squad Nation Website on the Smart Board. They will see a picture of the Top Builder: Poster Coaster Challenge winner and runners up. They will also view a short 2 minute video on the site challenging them to design their own paper coaster. The video shows how to build and troubleshoot a
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BE CREATIVE. paper ramp. After the video the teachers will ask the students if the video or pictures gave them any ideas for their own design. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/topbuilder/5/
INSTRUCTION Explain Step-by-step what you will do in this lesson. Be explicit about ties to Points to Ponder, Essential Question, and Interactions here. Include ALL support and teaching materials with your unit.
TIME: 60 minutes (Leave at least 30 minutes maximum for Skype session depending on if the expert can meet this day. We emailed the expert about scheduling two Skype sessions this day but have not heard back yet. We hope to schedule a thirty minutes session for both classes on Day Three.) I. Selecting starting and ending points.
Divide your paper roller coaster into three different sections by placing marks on the
tracks. 1. Label the beginning of the roller coaster with an “A” 2. About 1/3 of the way down the roller coaster, label the track with a “B” 3. About 2/3 of the way down the roller coaster, label the track with a “C” 4. Label the end of the roller coaster with a “D”
II. Measuring Distances between points 1. Measure the distance that the marble must travel to get from Point A to Point B. To
do this, lay one end of a string on the track at Point A. Stretch the string along the path that the marble will travel. Mark the string where it meets Point B on the track. Remove the string from the track and measure the length of the string that reached from Point A to Point B when it was lying on the track. Record the distance in centimeters in the data table.
2. Use the same procedure to measure the distance from Point B to Point C and the distance from Point C to Point D. Record these distances in the data table.
3. Measure the amount of time it takes for the marble to roll from Point A to Point B. To do this, release the marble at Point A and use a stopwatch to find how long it takes for the marble to reach point B. Record this time in the data table. Repeat this procedure three times and record your results in the data table. Find the average for the three trials and enter that time in the data table.
4. Measure the amount of time it takes for the marble to roll from Point B to Point C. Do not release the marble at Point B. Instead, release the marble at Point A again and start the stopwatch when it passes Point B. Stop the timer when the marble passes Point C. Repeat for three trials and calculate the average.
5. Measure the amount of time it takes for the marble to roll from Point C to Point D.
Do not release the marble at Point C. Instead, release the marble at Point A again and start the stopwatch when it passes Point C. Stop the timer when the marble reaches Point D. Repeat for three trials and calculate the average.
6. Calculate the average speed of the marble between Point A and Point B. Divide the
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distance between Point A and Point B by the average amount of time that it took to get from Point A to Point B.
7. Enter the speed of the marble in the data table. Use the correct units in the table. 8. Calculate the average speed of the marble between Point B and Point C. Record
your result in the table. Repeat the same steps to calculate the average speed of the marble between Point C and Point D.
T
R
I
A
L
S
Average
1 2 3
Distance A to B
Time from A to B
Speed between A
and B
Distance B to C Time from B to C
Speed between B
and C
Distance C to D Time from C to D
Speed between C
and D
As an extension activity, students will watch a video on the types and parts of a roller coaster via a TED Ed link on the class website. There will be a discussion link following the video for the students to interact with each other and discuss how the force of friction interacts with a roller coaster train moving along the track. A brief quiz will determine what students know about roller coaster parts, mechanical energy, and friction. http://science.howstuffworks.com/4661-how-roller-coasters-work-video.htm
ASSESSMENT (Performance Task) What will the students DO to demonstrate that they have mastered the content? Be specific and include actual assessment with unit materials.
TIME: 10 minutes Students will answer the following questions in their design journal: 1. Between which two points did the marble have the highest average speed? 2. Why do you think that the marble was moving the fastest on this part of your roller coaster? 3. Between which two points did the marble have the lowest average speed? 4. Why do you think that the marble was moving the slowest on this part of your roller coaster? 5. If you wanted to make a roller coaster on which the marble would have the slowest average speed from the top to the bottom, how would you design it? 6. Calculate the average speed of the marble during the entire trip down the paper roller coaster.
Trial AVERAGE
1 2 3
Distance from A to D
Time from A to D
Speed from A to D
After completing the activity and assessment the students will use the remainder of the
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class period for design time.
DOES THE ASSESSMENT ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE STUDENTS HAVE MET YOUR STATED LESSON OBJECTIVE? YES OR NO ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS Hook Website: http://pbskids.org/designsquad/topbuilder/5/ Paper coasters (in progress) ruler string stopwatches
LESSON #4 Step Right Up: Roller Coaster Challenge!
I. DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT
LESSON OBJECTIVE
Given a Flip camera, students will create a video displaying their final roller coaster product and explaining the laws of physics and will meet criteria determined by students with at least 80% on the rubric.
POINT TO PONDER You are more likely to get in an accident on the way to an amusement park than on a ride.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do ride designers and inspectors interact with each other and with the ride to ensure visitors stay safe on roller coasters?
CONTENT Outline the content you will teach in this lesson.
IV. Safety A. Initial Inspections
1. As roller coasters near completion, engineers begin testing to make sure everything functions properly and the ride is safe.
a) The very first test riders are weighted bags or dummies. b) Some dummies are equipped with devices to measure the forces exerted on the coaster and the rider.
2. Once the engineers have determined that the ride is safe for humans, they ride it themselves to work out all the kinks.
B. Ongoing Maintenance 1. Full-time engineers who work at theme parks inspect all rides on a daily basis. 2. Preventative maintenance can detect problems early and prevent accidents. 3. A ride must be run without passengers several times throughout the day while maintenance crew watch and listen for anything unusual.
C. Passenger Safety 1. Amusement parks have precautions posted at the entrance to rides to keep passengers safe.
a) Obey age, height, weight, and health restrictions. b) Keep your head, hands, arms, legs, and feet
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inside the ride at all times. 2. Most roller coaster accidents involve passengers not following the rules for their own safety.
Academic Vocabulary for Word Wall: Inspection, Maintenance, Safety
II. PRE-PLANNING
What will students UNDERSTAND as a result of this lesson? How does this connect to the Essential Question?
The students will understand the importance of safety when building roller coasters and how designers and inspectors interact to ensure safety guidelines are being followed.
What will students be able to DO as a result of this lesson?
The students will be able to create a video using a Flip Camera. The students will be able to test the safety of their roller coaster that they built. Students will also be able to describe the properties of physics at work on their own model coasters.
III. PLANNING
HOOK Describe how you will grab students’ attention at the beginning of the lesson. BE CREATIVE.
TIME: 5 minutes Teachers will play a VoiceThread slideshow of different roller coasters with interesting facts about them. It will include various roller coasters from all over the world. The facts will be drawn from reliable sources. Later in the day, students will have an opportunity to visit the VoiceThread and add their own voice to the slides, interacting with their teachers and classmates. https://voicethread.com/?#q.b5551187
INSTRUCTION Explain Step-by-step what you will do in this lesson. Be explicit about ties to Points to Ponder, Essential Question, and Interactions here. Include ALL support and teaching materials with your unit.
TIME: 60 minutes After watching the following video, which shows the process of safety testing on a new coaster, we will discuss the inspections that roller coasters have to undergo initially and throughout the year. http://www.popularmechanics.com/video/fahrenheit-roller-coaster-behind-the-scenes-video-1599177489 To connect safety with a real world problem, we will discuss the following roller coaster accident: On October 24, 2013, five people were injured at the North Carolina State Fair. The accident took place while the riders were waiting to exit the ride called Vortex. ABC News reported after this incident: “The association that represents carnival operators told ABC News that Americans took more than 1 billion rides a year and that each year 13,000 people were injured and visited an emergency room.” According to NBC News, no one does not know the exact number of deaths that occur due to theme park attractions. However NBC News does state: “About 4,400 children a year are hurt on such rides; that’s up to 20 kids a day in the peak season between May and September.” When the students are creating their rides they will have to consider safety concerns and how they will address them in their design. The students will explore the different safety precautions for roller coasters. They will do this by researching websites that will be linked to the class website. Next, they will come up with at least five safety rules or
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regulations for their roller coaster. They will use these rules to address the safety of their coaster during their final presentation. We are going to contact our experts to get information about inspections and inspectors. We want to find out how often inspections are and what happens during the inspections from the eye of an expert. Possible Websites to include on Weebly Site and to Explore: http://parade.condenast.com/55888/hannah_dreyfus/10-roller-coaster-safety-tips-that-could-save-your-life/ http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety/regulations-standards Students will imitate a safety inspection by testing the safety of their model coasters. Students will take turns coming up to the models and dropping a marble down the coaster hills. This highest point of the coaster will indicate the initial drop. After taking test runs, the students will work together to decide what support systems are necessary to hold the roller coaster up. They will also determine which models are not safe for the “passengers in the cart” (which is represented by the marble). After the testing, students will be brought back together to discuss their results in a round table format. Students will interact with each other in the same manner as design engineers at roller coaster manufacturers to share the strengths and weaknesses of their designs, their observations from today’s tests, and troubleshoot possible solutions to design flaws as a group. Students will use the majority of the time to finish building their roller coasters and test the idea of safety with their roller coaster models. Then the students will begin creating a video to promote their roller coaster for the fictional amusement park. The students will create the video using Flip cameras. During the video they will showcase their model and describe the properties of physics at work on their model, how they interact, and their justification for including them with their design. They will help film each others videos and the teachers will upload them to the computers as they get finished making their video.
ASSESSMENT (Performance Task) What will the students DO to demonstrate that they have mastered the content? Be specific and include actual assessment with unit materials.
TIME: 10 minutes After students finish creating their roller coaster and video, they will present them to a panel of judges. The judges will include three experts (professors, teachers, or volunteers). The judges will act as sales representatives from the fictional amusement park. These judges will vote for the best roller coaster based on a list of criteria suggested and agreed upon by the students. The winning coaster will act as the new coaster being built in the amusement park. The criteria will include: one successful trial run, the safety of the ride, and the video, which should show the entire roller coaster along with a description of the properties of physics which interact on the ride. The teachers will use a rubric/checklist to grade this assessment. Since the checklist/rubric will include criteria that the students come up with, it will not be created until the week of camp.
Extra 55 Minutes for Day 4: We will use this time to finish building,
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recording and presenting the final products for each student. We will also
present the final products again for the parents during the parent viewing
later in the day.
DOES THE ASSESSMENT ALLOW YOU TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THE STUDENTS HAVE MET YOUR STATED LESSON OBJECTIVE? YES OR NO ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS VoiceThread: https://voicethread.com/?#q.b5551187 http://www.popularmechanics.com/video/fahrenheit-roller-coaster-behind-the-scenes-video-1599177489 Possible Websites to include on Weebly Site and to Explore: http://parade.condenast.com/55888/hannah_dreyfus/10-roller-coaster-safety-tips-that-could-save-your-life/ http://www.iaapa.org/safety-and-advocacy/safety/amusement-ride-safety/regulations-standards Possible Coaster Examples to post on Weebly Site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kImRVHvA4aw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcwT_vYkbxE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BCIfYc9r8s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLLapiqdS6Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01CwQCesA5Q
