Rollercoaster Mania

The students will learn about types of energy forms, how they can convert from one energy form to another, the dangers of g forces and rollercoasters, and the principles behind acceleration, which include changing direction, slowing down or speeding up. After drawing blueprints, planning a budget and uploading their ideas to Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, they will construct a rollercoaster out of foam tubing with some necessary requirements: 2 dips and hills, two clothoid loops, and one 180 degree banked turn. Their goal is to provide a complete journey for a marble through their heart stopping ride and get the fastest time of the class. The only catch is they have 50 minutes to do so! They will use a flip video camera to record their progress and a digital camera to take pictures of the finished project. When time is up, they will give an official time to present to the class.

In the next class period. students will use post-it flags to label where potential energy and kinetic energy exist, convert to each other and where acceleration occurs. They will explain these scientific concepts in a podcast format to present to the class and prove that they understand and can apply the concepts. They will also describe the parts of the ride where riders would experience G-LOC (loss of consciousness due to g forces) or red out (too many negative g forces). They will upload their podcasts to School Tube with parental permission.