Use the following terms correctly in describing the forces and elements of a roller coaster.

by acechels (student)

4. Use the following terms correctly in describing the forces and elements of a roller coaster. (Underline the terms in your description)

-Gravity -G-forces

-Potential Energy -Kinetic Energy

-Centripetal Force -Centrifugal Force

-Acceleration -Friction

How many people have been on a roller coaster before? You have, I have, almost everybody has! However, have you ever considered why your cart doesn’t fall off the track while you’re on that giant loop? And why do you sometimes feel like lead and other times a feather? Despite what you may think, it is not magic or any miracle. There are many different forces and elements that are involved in a roller coaster that explain why things are the way they are on these thrilling rides.

One of the main elements in roller coasters is energy. There are actually two specific types of energy involved: potential and kinetic. A roller coaster cart has a large quantity of potential energy at the top of a hill. Potential energy, which is stored energy that depends on the mass and height of the object, is high at the top of the hill because the cart is very high off the ground. As the cart descends down the drop, it loses potential energy in accordance with height. However, the cart subsequently gains kinetic energy, which is the energy of motion that depends on the mass and speed of the object. So in other words, the potential energy that was stored is released as kinetic energy, which increases with speed, and also takes you down the hill. Say there is another hill after the first. The kinetic energy would propel the cart up the hill, building up potential energy. Then the previous events would repeat themselves.

So we’ve figured out what energies cause what in a roller coaster. However, in addition to energy, forces are a huge factor in roller coasters. One of the most important forces in a roller coaster is gravity, which is an attractive force that exists between all objects that have mass, such as roller coasters. Earth exerts a gravitational force that causes objects to be pulled towards the ground. Therefore, gravity applies a constant downward force on a roller coaster cart. When there is a downward slope on a roller coaster, gravity is pulling the cart towards the ground, causing acceleration. ...

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Acceleration is the rate at which velocity changes with time. In this case, the acceleration is the cart speeding up due to the force of gravity on a downward slope. The cart speeds up (a form of acceleration) because gravity is pulling the cart towards the ground in its direction of motion. However, if there is an upward slope on a roller coaster, the cart will slow down (also a form of acceleration) because the cart is being pulled towards the ground by gravity, opposing its direction of motion.

One form of acceleration is g-force. Although you live in a world of 1-g (one g-force), you don’t notice. However, on roller coasters you can actually feel the apparent changes in gravitational forces all the time because the g-force doesn’t stay at 1-g. When a cart is being accelerated up a slope, the g-force increases, causing you to feel much heavier than normal. On the other hand, when a cart is going down a slope, on a turn, or going over the top of a loop, the g-force decreases, causing you to feel weightless or much lighter than you normally weigh.

Speaking of loops, let’s get into more detail about that. At first glance, loops seem impossible. Why doesn’t the cart fall off the track? There are two forces that prevent that from happening: centripetal force and centrifugal force. Centripetal force is a center-seeking force that makes an object follow a curved path towards the center of the path. On a roller coaster, it is exerted by the track, pushing you towards the center. Centrifugal force is a center-fleeing force. It is exerted by the cart and in other words could be called momentum.

The final force involved in a roller coaster is friction, a contact force that opposes the movement between two surfaces in contact. In this case, the two surfaces are the roller coaster track and the cart. It is what causes the roller coaster to lose potential energy and slow down. Eventually, when the potential energy stored is very low, the cart is either sent up a hill to gain more potential energy, or the ride comes to an end.

Like our roller coaster, this report is coming to an end. Hopefully, you’ve learned something or gotten a better understanding of this subject.