Aside from amplifying their physics knowledge, they proved that they have broken out of their comfort zones. This excursion was beneficial for both their internal “Application of physics to a selected context” (91522) as well as their external “Demonstrate understanding of mechanical systems” (91524).ĭespite a drizzly start to the day, the learners were able to milk out the full experience at Rainbows End. During the day, students observed torque, circular motion, simple harmonic motion and other physics principles in action. The purpose of the trip was for students to familiarise themselves with the mechanisms of a spectrum of rides, applying the laws of physics to illustrate the functionality of each one. Accompanied by Mr McKie and Mrs Muir, students were let loose from the moment of arrival to satisfy their curiosities. There isn't really a bad place to sit on a roller coaster, as long as you're strapped into a seat.As part of the NCEA Level 3 Physics Course, students had the day out of school to deepen their knowledge of physics at Auckland’s most recognised theme park, Rainbows End. The cars in the middle provide the weakest ride, but it's a good bet you'll still have a good time. If you want the best view of the action, head for the front. If you love the feeling of weightlessness, head for the back. The best seat on a coaster, then, is a matter of personal taste. In a coaster that has seats facing backward, the rear car offers the best of both worlds - you get a great view and the most intense ride. In a typical coaster design, the riders in the front car get an unobstructed view of all these obstacles whipping past them. The visual component of the roller-coaster ride is important because it gives you a sense of speed and peril - coaster designers intentionally weave the track around all sorts of obstacles to make you feel like the ride is out of control. But in most coasters, you can't see the track very well from the rear car: Your line of sight is blocked by the people in front of you. This increased force essentially whips the car over the top, briefly pushing up on the riders so that they almost fly out of their seats.įor many people, this is the best spot on a roller coaster throughout the ride because all the twists and turns are more pronounced. Consequently, the rear car will have a higher acceleration at the top of the hill than the first car did. By the time the last car moves over the hump, gravity has already accelerated the first car a good bit. In this way, all of the rear cars are accelerated by the motion of the first car, so they all start accelerating at different points along the track. Because of gravity's pull, the first car starts to accelerate, which accelerates the second car, which accelerates the third car and so on. But when the first car makes it over the apex, gravity starts pulling that car down the other side of the hill. As it ascends, it slows down because gravity is pulling on it from behind. To understand how this works, imagine a coaster train reaching the top of a hill. It is this additional force that makes the experience a little bit different for the riders in each car. But in addition to feeling the force of gravity, each car is also pulled or pushed by the cars connected to it. Then what makes one coaster car different from another? All of the cars travel over the same tracks, so gravity accelerates and decelerates them at roughly the same points. Rapidly switching between these two conditions is what makes roller coasters such an exhilarating experience. When both are in the same direction, you feel very heavy. When the force caused by acceleration and the force caused by gravity are in opposite directions, they cancel each other out to a certain degree, making you feel very light. This sensation feels just like the pull of gravity, and the two forces - gravity and acceleration - combine in interesting ways. This acceleration, along with the up-and-down movement of the train, produces a strange sensation in your body - you are constantly being pushed in different directions ( click here to find out why). For the rest of the ride, the hills, valleys and loops convert this supply from potential energy to kinetic energy and back again, causing the train to accelerate and decelerate. In its initial climb up the lift hill, a roller-coaster train builds up a reservoir of potential energy due to the downward pull of gravity. If you've read How Roller Coasters Work, then you know about the basic principles of a coaster ride. Roller coaster rides can be both exhilarating and scary.
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