Marble Roller Coaster Background Research

A marble travelling forward will continue moving in that direction because of it s momentum.

Marble roller coaster background research.

Research design and build a roller coaster. Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Because some energy is always lost to friction your initial hill. They re miniature versions of the types of roller coasters you d find at amusement parks and they include twists turns and loops.

Get hands on exploring what kinds of loops are possible how energy changes during a ride and how the laws of motion come into play. You ll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape and see how much of an initial drop is required to get the marble to loop the loop it s a great way to learn about how stored energy potential energy is converted into the energy of motion kinetic energy. The marble rolls because it has gravitational potential energy. This is a good opportunity to explain the negative effects of momentum.

Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has stored because of. If it s too flexible then it s hard for the loop to keep its shape. In this lesson students will prepare to construct a marble roller coaster by completing background research on roller coasters. If a curved track is not banked the marble may fly off of the edge of the track.

Roller coasters and marble runs offer an engaging platform for invention engineering and physics based investigation. The foam pipe insulation needs to be the stiff kind. In roller coaster construction this is called track banking. Background roller coasters rely on two types of energy to operate.

Your roller coaster cannot be prefabricated or from a kit. Potential energy is gathered by an object as it moves upwards or away from the earth. If you followed the guidelines discussed in the background section you should have been able to design a working roller coaster. Plan your 60 minute lesson in science with helpful tips from kara nelson.

With a roller coaster this is acheived by pulling the train up a lift hill to the coaster s highest point. It must have at least 2 hills including the starting point one loop cannot have a top and must be free standing. Marble roller coasters are science based interactive toys that work on the principles of physics particularly changing potential energy into kinetic energy.