ROLLERCOASTER PHYSICS

Roller coasters are the perfect place to

understand all these laws, forces, and energies at
work! Roller coasters aren’t motorized by motors the
entire way along the ride. In fact, most roller
coasters are only pulled up to the top of the first
hill – the highest point of the complete ride. Its
entire trip relies only on the potential energy it
has gained by its position at the top of this hill.
The higher a roller coaster climbs a hill, the
greater a distance there is for gravity to pull it
down. When the roller coaster comes down the hill,
its potential energy is converted into kinetic
energy. When the coaster travels down a hill and
starts its way up a new hill, the kinetic energy
changes back to potential energy until it is
released again when the coaster travels down the
hill it just climbed.

When loops and twists are constructed in the

track, the track becomes the centripetal force that
keeps the cars and passengers travelling in a
circular motion. The inertia of the passengers,
which wants them to travel in a straight line, makes
the passengers feel like they are being ‘pressed’
into their seats while traveling through the loop.
When a coaster goes up a loop or hill, it must come
down, since for every action, there is an equal and
opposite reaction. And if there is not plenty force
or speed to overcome its mass, a roller coaster
can’t make its way through the whole way of its
track.