Designer Research Key
Read the Coaster Physics Book:(pg 5-6)
- Why did the marble make it around the smaller, but not the larger loop?
It was lower than the stop height – the other loop was higher than the stop height.
(pg 25, 27, 80, &150).
- How does the speed of the coaster affect the shape of the hill?
The faster the coaster, the wider the hill must be.
- What can you do to a loop if the ball falls off?
Adjust the radius until the ball stays on the track.
- How can you shape the second hill?
Drop the marble and change the shape until the marble no longer falls off the track.
Go to the eHow.com site.
- What are the differences between a wooden coaster and a steel coaster?
Wooden coasters are nonlooping. They're also not as tall and not as fast, and they don't feature very steep hills or as long a track as steel ones do. Wooden coasters do offer one advantage over steel coasters, assuming you're looking for palm-sweating thrills: they sway a lot more. Tubular steel coasters allow more looping, higher and steeper hills, greater drops and rolls, and faster speeds.
Go to the How Stuff Works site. Select Loop-the-loops (Inside this article #8).
- What two factors determine the intensity of the loop the loop?
The speed of the train and the angle of the turn.
Go to the Newton’s Apple website OR Go to How Roller Coaster is Made
- The bigger the change in direction or speed and the less time that change takes, the greater the acceleration and the bigger the force you'll feel. What do designers do to keep forces at safe levels?
The designer has to stretch out the time and the distance it takes to navigate the curve at the bottom of the hill. This spreads the change out over time, decreasing the force you feel. The top of the next hill has to be high enough to slow the coaster down, or stretched out to a gentler or banked curve, so the car doesn't fly off the track. Space is a problem. Coasters go forward two feet for every foot they climb. If the highest hill is 100 feet, it takes about 200 horizontal feet to get the car that high. If the highest hill is 200 feet, it takes 400 feet. Since land is expensive, the designers have to be creative about the use of space. A track shaped into a curve takes up less space than one left in a straight line.
- Since land is expensive, how do designers save space?
A track shaped into a curve takes up less space than one left in a straight line.
On the HowStuffWorks site Select Roller Coasters and Your Body then go to the next page to: That Sinking Feeling.
- What is airtime?
Air time is the feeling of weightlessness or negative gravity force experienced on a roller coaster or other amusement rides. On roller coasters this feeling is usually achieved by the train going over a hill.
Go to the Wise Geek site.
- Most roller coasters are designed not to exceed what G-force level?
Roller coasters are usually designed not to exceed 3 g, although a few notable exceptions produce as much as 6.7 g.
Go to the Ultimate Roller Coaster and look at photographs of roller coasters.
- Describe how the loops and hills are supported.
Many loops have two angled beams on each side of the loop. The hills and curves are supported with a bridge-like support system with angled cross pieces. The turns are banked.
Go to the Everyday Mysteries site.
- How do roller coaster designers keep riders from falling out of the cars on the track, even when they are upside down?
Gravity is counteracted by the force of acceleration, which is the force that pushes you forward.