1. Amusement Park Physics
Hold on to your hats, guys and gals, this is one fast trip!

2. What makes a roller coaster so fun?
Some think it is the free fall
Others the speed and acceleration
Maybe it’s the fear you feel
when the roller coaster
Sloooowly climbs that first hill!

3. Roller Coasters What keeps you in Inertia your seat on a loop?
What force powers
Roller coasters?
Gravity
Why do you experience
crushing feelings?
Inertia
Where?
At the bottom of a hill as the
train starts to go up
Why do you experience free fall?
Inertia
At the top of a hill as the
train starts to go down
Where?

4. Energy Mechanical Energy 1. Potential Energy 2. Kinetic Energy
Thermal Energy
1. Friction

5. Looping Coaster at Canobie
PE = mgh
Why is this hill lower?
How can we calculate the energy lost to friction?
KE = ½ mv2

6. Spiral Twists Why have these loops?
Acceleration = change in velocity over time
Velocity = speed and direction

7. Water Rides—are they roller coasters?
Compare
Both have hills
Both use gravity
Both have energy transformations
Contrast
Water powers the ride—not gravity alone
Water is also the friction to slow down—not brakes
No track
PE to KE transformation not as key as water speed

8. The Boston Tea Party
The friction with the water and the blunt shape of the car makes the wave so huge and beautiful!
Teacher’s pet
I love physics

9. Circular Rides—A huge variety
This type of ride makes many people
Feel ill. How?

10. What do the forces look like on a swing ride?
And in a circular pattern with
constantly changing direction
Direction of the ride
Riders move out from the center
This is different from a ride with a track,
because there no track/seat to push back.
What is the reaction force then?

11. But they all work the same way
What other force is at work here?
Hint: it pulls you down
If you are going on the ride with Hagrid (a giant),
should you or he sit on the outside?
Hint: Which way are you being pulled or pushed?

12. Let’s Look at the Forces
Centripetal force C
Direction of ride
The direction is constantly changing which means
The acceleration is constant
How does inertia figure into this?

13. Is this one different? Do you really need the restraints?
If someone were to say, upchuck, what direction
Would the substance go?
Eww—GROSS!!!

14. Circular Motion
(One complete cycle)

15. Circular Motion

16. Circular Motion

17. Pirate Ship—Pendulum Rides
FREE FALL
What is the thrill of this ride?
What produces that thrill?
Inertia

18. Free Body Diagram Inertia keeps the body going up
When the ship is going back down
The force of friction goes against
The direction of motion
Direction of movement
Force of Weight

19. How Could We Calculate the Amount of Energy “Lost” Due to Friction?
Where we release the “ship”
PE = mgh
Where the highest point is
after an amount of time
PE = mgh
If we find both PEs and subtract h – h. . .we have it!
Now, what if we want to find the average
PE lost on each swing?

20. Pendulum Physics

21. Figure 13.4: The Simple Pendulum
Force the rider feels is defined by:
Fr = - (m)(g)(sin )

22. Pendulum Physics
One Period (T):
l = length of string
g = 9.8 m/s/s

23. Pendulum Physics
The frequency of oscillation is the inverse of the period:
frequency =