Marble Roller Coaster Background Research

Research design and build a roller coaster.

Marble roller coaster background research.

The foam pipe insulation needs to be the stiff kind. Your roller coaster will transport a marble that you supply you can use any model or size marble. 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. A marble travelling forward will continue moving in that direction because of it s momentum.

Background roller coasters rely on two types of energy to operate. If a curved track is not banked the marble may fly off of the edge of the track. The marble rolls because it has gravitational potential energy. 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. Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has stored because of. 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.

They re miniature versions of the types of roller coasters you d find at amusement parks and they include twists turns and loops. Because some energy is always lost to friction your initial hill. Roller coasters and marble runs offer an engaging platform for invention engineering and physics based investigation. If it s too flexible then it s hard for the loop to keep its shape.

Background and bibliography the purpose of the project is to find the lowest possible height for the hill so all of the marbles can complete the loop. Potential energy is gathered by an object as it moves upwards or away from the earth. In roller coaster construction this is called track banking. Marble roller coasters are science based interactive toys that work on the principles of physics particularly changing potential energy into kinetic energy.

This is a good opportunity to explain the negative effects of momentum. In this lesson students will prepare to construct a marble roller coaster by completing background research on roller coasters. Your roller coaster cannot be prefabricated or from a kit.