Marble Roller Coaster Potential And Kinetic Energy

Roller coasters rely on two types of energy to operate.

Marble roller coaster potential and kinetic energy.

A marble at the top of the track has potential energy. Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. A roller coaster demonstrates kinetic energy and potential energy. As the marble starts rolling down the roller coaster the amount of potential energy stored in the marble decreases while its kinetic energy increases.

When the marble rolls down the track the potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy. For example a coaster could go between three levels a desk a chair and the floor. Potential energy and no kinetic energy. Abstract if you d like to investigate the physics of amusement park rides then this project is for you.

As the roller coaster goes higher more potential energy is increased in the roller coaster. Converting potential energy to kinetic energy. In this experiment you will be calculating the change in potential energy of a. Caused by gravity and the roller coaster s position the potential energy is stored in the roller coaster.

Real roller coasters use a motor to pull cars up a hill at the beginning of the ride. You ll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape and see how much the marble s potential energy at the beginning of the track is converted to kinetic energy at various points along the track. This kinetic energy will never be greater than the marble s original amount of potential energy. Build your own marble roller coaster in this project and find out.

For example this ball is at the top of a hill where potential energy is at it s highest. Potential energy is also converted into heat energy due to friction. How much height to loop the loop. Or your roller coaster car your marble might crash.

At no time will the combination of the two forms of energy be greater than the initial amount of. Potential energy kinetic energy. Lost due to friction can never exceed the initial amount of potential energy the coaster car has. At the end of the roller coaster unit students should be able to describe what causes variations in the amount of potential energy an object has.