Jake

=Great Adventure Roller Coaster Project= =Jake Greenstein=

Name of roller coaster: The Green Lantern Mass: 70 kg
 * Activity A: The First Drop of a Roller Coaster**


 * Part A) At the park**

1. Estimated Distances & Angles 2. Measured Times 3. Diagrams
 * Start Height (m) || Top 1st Hill Height (m) || Bottom First Hill Height (m) || Curve Radius Bottom 1st Hill (m) || Angle of Initial Incline and Drop (degrees) ||
 * 36.9 || 46.9 || 3.05 || 22.86 || 45 ||
 * Trial || Time up 1st Hill (s) || Time down 1st Hill (s) ||
 * 1 || 42.3 || 3.81 ||
 * 2 || 43.4 || 3.93 ||
 * 3 || 45.1 || 3.84 ||
 * 4 || 43.2 || 3.86 ||
 * 5 || 45.1 || 3.95 ||
 * Average || 43.8 || 3.88 ||

Side View

Top View

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60zrnOyBo3U

4. Graphs

Acceleration vs. Time 5. Evaluate
 * 1) Safety
 * 2) There are specially designed seats to keep the rider safe, as well as large safety belts which strap across the rider's shoulders to keep you in place.
 * 3) Weight sensations
 * 4) Due to changes in the normal force, you feel heavy as you rise up and light when you drop. You feel heaviest at the bottom of the drop when your body is still acceleration downwards but the roller coaster begins accelerating upwards
 * 5) Excitement
 * 6) The weight sensations and the excitement level are directly proportional. Going up, there are no sudden changes in apparent weight, so the ride is not very exciting. As you drop and progress through the ride, you feel rapid shifts in acceleration, which raises the excitement factor. At the bottom of the first hill is the most exciting, since your body is experiencing the greatest g force.
 * 7) Thrill
 * 8) The thrill factors, besides the g forces, were anticipation, fear, wind rushing, and the riding position of standing.

1. Experimental Calculations Experimental Velocity Experimental Acceleration Experimental Power Theoretical Velocity Theoretical Acceleration Theoretical Power Percent Difference for Velocity Percent Difference for Acceleration Percent Difference for Power
 * Part B) Back at School**
 * Percent errors were all within acceptable ranges. They stemmed from human error, since the process of timing allows for much error, especially when measuring short periods of time*

Safety (# of g's) G's = a / g G's = 8.24 / 9.8 G's = .841 This is within safe limits, and is even less intense than 1 g. There was a correlation between the g force and excitement level. Extremes led to excitement; therefore, when very little g force was experienced during the drop, riders felt excited. Also, when riders felt a strong g force at the bottom of the drop, this was exciting too. It would appear as if excitement is correlation with the absolute value of normal gravity (9.8) minus experienced acceleration.

Thinking About Physics The behavior of the mass on the string was usually opposite the full body diagram of the car. This is because the car is directly changing, and the mass is changing as a result of the car's motion. This led to forces being opposite. The only exception is when the car was on a level surface at the bottom of the drop, where they both behaved the same. The angle is the reason for different behaviors. The # of g's correlates to the sensation of weight. As the rider is forced to accelerate more or less in a given direction, you also feel heavier or lighter. For example, after the drop, the rider experiences a lot of g force. As a result, the rider feels heaviest at this point. In the distance vs. time graph, the graph represents accurately the motion of the roller coaster. During the incline, you move slowly with no acceleration, so there is little slope. Then, when you drop, the acceleration changes, so there is a greater slope since you cover more distance in less time. This is also clear on the velocity vs time graph, where the beginning of the ride has little velocity, and then it changes once you begin to move faster. Both graphs stem from the results of the acceleration vs time graph, which shows that first there is no acceleration, and then suddenly you begin to undergo constant acceleration. Finally, the thrill vs acceleration graph shows how thrill goes up as you experience acceleration.

Name of Roller Coaster: Batman
 * Activity B: A Vertical Loop of a Roller Coaster**

1. Estimates Distances and Angles 2. Measured Times 3. Diagrams
 * Part A) At the Park**
 * Top of Loop Height (m) || First Hill Height (m) || Length of Car (m) || Radius of Loop (m) ||
 * 27 || 32 || 7.65 || 3.7 ||
 * Trial || Single Car's Time to Pass Top of Loop (s) ||
 * 1 || 2.16 ||
 * 2 || 2.23 ||
 * 3 || 2.12 ||
 * 4 || 2.28 ||
 * 5 || 2.13 ||
 * Average || 2.2 ||


 * Side View*

4. Graphs 5. Evaluate Thinking about Physics The mass on the string correlated with the free body diagram during this roller coaster. Once again, the g force correlated to the sense of weight. As the g force increased, the rider feels heavier, and vice versa. The graphs I created curve as a result of the movement in different directions. For example, the acceleration vs time graph shows how the ride begins to accelerate in the negative direction, then stops accelerating, then accelerates in the positive direction. These shifts in direction are the reason for the different curves of the graphs.
 * 1) Safety
 * 2) The ride featured seat belt straps to keep the rider secured. As an added precaution, there was an evacuation platform for emergencies.
 * 3) Excitement
 * 4) The most excitement is felt at the top and sides of the loop. On the sides, there is the rush of knowing you are traveling vertically, and then on the top you've reached the peak. The bottom is not as exciting.
 * 5) Thrill
 * 6) The main thrill is the loop. Since one is not often upside down, the forces experienced are new. In this situation, the normal of your seat is pushing you down while the normal of the shoulder straps is keeping you from falling down.
 * 7) Weight Sensations
 * 8) At the sides you feel heavy, since you start accelerating in a new direction. At the top, you feel weightless, since Normal is pushing you downwards. At the bottom, you feel heavy, since the normal force is back in the right direction, but your body undergoes strong acceleration.
 * Part B) Back at School**

Name of Ride: Carousel Mass of car: 80 kg
 * Activity C: A Rotating Ride**

1.Estimated Distances and Angles 2. Measurements 3. Diagrams 4. Graphs 5. Evaluate
 * Part A) At the Park**
 * Length of Car if necessary (m) || Radius of Circular Path (m) || Angle of Seats if necessary (degrees) ||
 * N/A || 4.16 || N/A ||
 * Trial || Period at Maximum Speed (s) ||
 * 1 || 15.5 ||
 * 2 || 15.43 ||
 * 3 || 15.98 ||
 * 4 || 15.8 ||
 * 5 || 16.1 ||
 * Average || 15.76 ||
 * 1) Safety
 * 2) Since the ride by nature is safe (not a thrill!), there was very little need for safety precautions. There were seat belts, and parents had to accompany their children.
 * 3) Excitement
 * 4) The relative thrill was highest once the ride reached maximum speed. Still, it was not a thrill, and was very slow.
 * 5) Thrill
 * 6) The centripetal force and constant spinning were thrill factors on this ride.
 * 7) Weight Sensations
 * 8) Since the ride moved so slowly, there was no perceptible change in apparent weight.

1. Experimental Calculations Average Speed Centripetal Acceleration Apparent Weight All percent errors are within acceptable ranges, and are results of human error, due to reaction time factoring into timing a ride.
 * Part B) Back at School**

2. Theoretical Calculations Average Speed Centripetal Acceleration Apparent Weight 3. Accuracy Average Speed Centripetal Acceleration Apparent Weight 4. Safety This g force is within safe limits, and is even below a single g. There was a correlation between # of g's and excitement. Since g force was so low, excitement level was low too.

5. Thinking About Physics The mass on the string mimicked the behavior of the ride. The graphs represented the motion of this ride accurately. As the velocity increases, centripetal force increases as well. As the ride speeds up and slows down, this is due to the changes in acceleration. Finally, as acceleration moved from 0, the thrill increased. Again, since acceleration was so low, thrill level was low too.