Roller Coaster Web Quest

Name____________

Objective: Research, plan, and design a roller coaster.

IntroductionYou squeeze into the molded plastic seat and pull the padded bars
down so they fit snug against your shoulders. The attendant comes by and
pushes on the bars to make sure they are locked into place. Then the cars
of the roller coaster begin to move out of the station, going up and up, until
you feel that you can touch the sky. Suddenly, with a lurch, your car reaches
the top. As it crests the hill and starts down the other side, you can feel it
begin to pick up speed. Now you are flying down the track, up smaller hills,
through loop-de-loops, upside down and twisting all around. You scream as
the roller coaster rounds a curve in the track and you are pushed to one
side. Finally, the coaster begins to slow down. It comes to a stop back at
the station, and you are released. What a ride!
If you like to ride roller coasters, the description above probably
sounds familiar. But did you know that roller coasters arent just thrill
rides? Actually, roller coasters are examples of the laws of physics in
operation. Roller coasters are pulled to the top of the highest hill, and then
released. A coaster has potential energy as it is pulled to the top, but is
changes to kinetic energy as the coaster begins its descent. Gravity and
friction control the rest of the ride. Why dont the cars of a roller coaster
fly off the track? Why dont the passengers fly out of the seats? How high
and the first hill of a coaster be? What physical law determine how many
hills, curves and loops a roller coaster track can have? You can find answers
to these questions in this web quest.
TASKYour job in this web quest is to find out how roller coasters work and use
this information plan design and build a simple model of a roller coaster. You
will learn about roller coaster design, laws of motion, and about velocity and
acceleration. You will design virtual roller coaster tracks and see what
happens to the coaster when you change variables such as height of hills,
length of track, mass of the coaster, and speed of the coaster. Then you
will use simple materials to build a model and test your roller coaster track.
Finally, you will report on your experiment.

Resources:
Look at the web sites given here to research information about roller
coasters. Answer the questions on separate paper.
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/coaster.html
1. What do some people call an amusement park roller coaster? Why?
2. What gives a roller coaster its power? (What makes them go)?
3. What drives the roller coaster?
4. What helps keep the ride smooth?
5. Describe the difference between a wooden and steel roller coaster.
6. Click on Design a Roller Coaster. Follow the directions to create your
own coaster. Did your design pass or fail? What was your safety rating?
7. What did you have to do in order to make your coaster fun and safe?
http://search.eb.com/coasters/ride.html
Go to this site for a graphic of a roller coaster with labels identifying the
types of forces that affect the coaster as it follows the track. Click on the
labels to learn more about that force.
8. Where does potential energy happen?
9. Where does the rider feel like they are falling?
10. Describe how gravitation and centripetal acceleration make a person
feel.
11. Where do the riders experience acceleration?
12. Where do they experience centripetal force?
13. Describe how friction plays a necessary role in a roller coaster.

http://www.funderstanding.com/coaster
MAKE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN!
Visit this site to design a roller coaster by manipulating the height of the
hills, sizes of the loops, speed of the coaster, and mass of the coaster on an
interactive screen. This is a fun site, but it takes a while to load so be
patient.
14. Did your car make it all the way through without coming off the
track?
15. What was the problem?
16. What did you do to make the car go all the way to the end?
17. What are some other fun things you did to this roller coaster?
http://napha.org
This is the web site for the National Amusement Park Historical Association.
Click on Library and then Facts and Figures to Worlds Oldest Operating
Parks.
18. Where is the worlds oldest operating amusement park located?
19. When was it built?
20. Where is the oldest operating amusement park in the United States?
21. When was it built?
Go back to Facts and Figures and click on Definitions. Define the
following:
22. Airtime
23. Hyper Coaster
24. Inversion
25. Twister
26. Inverted Coaster
27. Suspended Coaster
28. Steel Coaster
Click on Great Moments
29. Describe Pleasure Gardens in Europe.
30. When did they appear?
31. Where was the first vertical looping roller coaster and when was it
built?
32. What roller coaster forever changed the face of roller coaster
development and why? (1959)

33. When did Walt Disney World in Florida open?

34. How much did it cost?
35. How tall and fast is the Superman at Six Flags in Georgia?
http://www.cedarpoint.com/
Scroll over Explore the Park click on Roller Coasters.
36. Scroll down looking through all the coasters. What do you think is the
difference between Aggressive Thrill and High Thrill ratings?
37. Turn the volume down on your computer. Look at each ride. Which
one would you pick to ride first? Why?
38. Click on More Info for your coaster. What height must riders be in
feet? (12 inches is 1 foot)
39. What are the features of the ride? Describe it.
40. How fast will it go?
41. What is it made of? (Structure)
42. How far down is the vertical drop?

The amusement park is making a new brochure to feature a roller coaster

you have designed! Write a paragraph about your roller coaster that will
make people want to ride. Use lots of adjectives! Dont forget to give it a
name.