Name: ________________________
Roller Coaster Physics Student Packet
An Exploration of Energy as it Applies to the Science of Roller Coasters
Based on the North Carolina 2012 Standard Course of Study, 7th Grade Science
Coordinates with the Roller Coaster Physics Power Point Presentation
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Roller Coaster K-W-L Chart
What I Already Know
What I Want to Learn
What I Learned
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Roller Coaster Physics Anticipation Guide
Directions:
1. Respond to each statement below before the activity with a “T” for true or a “F” for false.
2. Complete the activity
3. Respond to each statement after the activity with a “T” for true or a “F” for false.
4. Rewrite the statements that are false so that they are true.
Before
After
1. Mechanical Energy relates to motion and is the sum of an object’s
potential and kinetic energy.
2. A roller coaster on top of a hill, about to drop has kinetic energy
due to gravity.
3. A roller coaster has potential energy when it is moving.
4. An example of energy transformation is when a roller coaster goes
up a hill and its’ kinetic energy changes to potential energy.
5. Roller coasters get faster because friction causes the roller
coaster’s mechanical energy to change or transform into heat energy.
Rewrite the false statements below:
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Roller Coaster Physics Vocabulary
Energy: Energy is the ability to do ______________. Energy is anything that can make matter
____________ or ________________.
Kinetic Energy: Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its _____________.
Potential Energy: Potential energy is _____________ energy.
Mechanical Energy: Mechanical energy is the energy that an object has because of its
_______________ or ___________________.
System: A system is a set of parts that are ________________ in some way.
Energy Transformation: Energy transformation is the process of ________________ energy
from one form to another.
Model: A model is a _______________________ of a system, object or concept. Models are
used to simplify and make things easier to understand.
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Roller Coaster Physics Think-Tac-Toe
Roller coasters in the news: Find a current
events article related to roller coasters and
energy that contains at least one of the
vocabulary words listed on page 4 of this
packet. You may use a newspaper, magazine,
or an online news sources such as CNN.com,
MSN.com etc… Highlight the vocabulary
words in the article.
Create and perform a play or make a video
about a ride on a roller coaster. Include the
following parts of the ride in your
presentation:
*the roller coaster has 100% potential energy
* the roller coaster has 100% kinetic energy
* the roller coaster is changing (energy
transformation) from potential to kinetic
energy
*the roller coaster is changing (energy
transformation) from kinetic to potential
energy
Write a poem, song or rap that teaches at least
3 of the roller coaster physics vocabulary
words listed on page 4 of this packet.
Come up with your own idea for a roller
coaster physics project. Ask your teacher
for approval before beginning. Through
the project, identify locations where a
roller coaster has
*100% potential energy
*100% kinetic energy
*is changing (energy transformation)
from potential to kinetic energy
*is changing (energy transformation)
from kinetic to potential energy
Roller Coaster Competition Lab
See page 6 of this packet
Make a crossword puzzle that includes at
least 5 of the vocabulary words listed on
page 4 of this packet.
Build a roller coaster model using
materials you bring in from home.
On the model, identify locations
where the roller coaster has
*100% potential energy
*100% kinetic energy
*is changing (energy
transformation) from potential to
kinetic energy
*is changing (energy
transformation) from kinetic to
potential energy
Make a comic strip/cartoon about
roller coasters. Include at least 3
of the roller coaster physics
vocabulary words listed on page 4
of this packet in your comic.
Make an illustrated children’s popup book about a ride on a roller
coaster. In the story, identify
when the roller coaster has
*100% potential energy
*100% kinetic energy
*is changing (energy
transformation) from potential to
kinetic energy
*is changing (energy
transformation) from kinetic to
potential energy
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Roller Coaster Competition Lab
Goal
To build the fastest roller coaster with greatest number of centimeters in upward hills using 4 meters of
rubber tubing as the track and a bb as the car.
Rules
1. The roller coaster must have at least three hills (downward slopes).
2. The first drop should be the longest hill.
2. A loop counts as a hill.
4. The car (bb) is dropped in the tubing at the top of the first hill and exits into a cup.
5. You may use the walls, tables, and chairs to hold your roller coaster.
6. You will have ___ minutes to build your roller coaster. (teacher determines the amount of time)
Materials
 4 meters of rubber tubing
 bb
 stopwatch
 meter stick or tape measure
 masking tape
 cup
Scoring
Did the roller coaster have at least 3 hills? (5 points)
Was the first drop the longest hill? (5 points)
Did the car (bb) complete the roller coaster course and exit into the cup? (10 points)
Time Score
20 minus the number of seconds it takes the car (bb) to complete the course. If the bb does
not exit into the cup, the time score is zero.
Number of centimeters of hills (upward slopes)
Measure the number of centimeters for each upward slope that the car (bb) climbed and add
together. Do not include hills that the car (bb) did not climb.
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Total Score
Mechanical Energy Concept Map
What is it?
What is it like?
Mechanical Energy
Examples
What is it not?
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Potential Energy Concept Map
What is it?
What is it like?
Potential Energy
Examples
What is it not?
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Kinetic Energy Concept Map
What is it?
What is it like?
Kinetic Energy
Examples
What is it not?
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Daily Essential Questions
Each day, draw a picture to illustrate the answer to the essential
question.
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2
4
5
3
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How Stuff Works: Rollercoaster History
Written by Tom Harris. http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster10.htm
Teachers can create enrichment, EOG prep and cross curricular activities based on this passage.
Roller coasters have a long, fascinating history. The direct ancestors of roller coasters were
monumental ice slides -- long, steep wooden slides covered in ice, some as high as 70 feet -that were popular in Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Riders shot down the slope in sleds
made out of wood or blocks of ice, crash-landing in a sand pile.
Coaster historians diverge on the exact evolution of these ice slides into actual rolling carts. The
most widespread account is that a few entrepreneurial Frenchmen imported the ice slide idea
to France. The warmer climate of France tended to melt the ice, so the French started building
waxed slides instead, eventually adding wheels to the sleds. In 1817, the Russes a Belleville
(Russian Mountains of Belleville) became the first roller coaster where the train was attached to
the track (in this case, the train axle fit into a carved groove). The French continued to expand
on this idea, coming up with more complex track layouts, with multiple cars and all sorts of
twists and turns.
The first American roller coaster was the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, built in the
mountains of Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s. The track, originally built to send coal to a railway,
was reconfigured as a "scenic tour." For one dollar, tourists got a leisurely ride up to the top of
the mountain followed by a wild, bumpy ride back down. Over the next 30 years, these scenic
rides continued to thrive and were joined by wooden roller coasters similar to the ones we
know today. These coasters were the main attraction at popular amusement parks throughout
the United States, such as Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania and Coney Island in New York. By
the 1920s, roller coasters were in full swing, with some 2,000 rides in operation around the
country.
With the Great Depression and World War II, roller-coaster production declined, but a second
roller-coaster boom in the 1970s and early 1980s revitalized the amusement-park industry. This
era introduced a slew of innovative tubular steel coasters. Some of the most popular ride
variations -- such as the curving corkscrew track -- saw their heyday around this time.
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