Eric Collins, Ted Dorris, Drew Ellis,
and Will Glass
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The goal of our project was to design a
rollercoaster that transports a “vehicle” from a
certain start to a designated finish.
Our rollercoaster is a continuous downward
ramp that spirals outwards as it goes down.
The “vehicle” is a small glass marble.
The rollercoaster relies on gravity for operation.
Supplies include: poster board, tape, marbles,
and a plastic spiral Christmas tree.
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The track was constructed by attaching Lshaped strips of poster board to the outside of
the existing tree structure.
The poster board edge would keep the marble
on the track because of its tangential
acceleration.
Operation:
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The marble is placed on the track at the top of the
structure, and it rolls down the continuous decline to
the bottom.
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Throughout its travel, the marble encounters
friction on the track’s surface and on its side.
Because the track is an incline, the marble
converts initial potential energy to kinetic
energy at the end of the run.
Because the track is in the shape of a spiral, the
marble is subjected to tangential acceleration.
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Our rollercoaster was successful in carrying a
“vehicle” from a starting point to a certain
finish.
Potential sources of error include: slightly
inconsistent decline of the track, and roughness
of the track edges.
Each member of the team put in equal amounts
of time and work into this project, and made
equal contributions.