Ben+and+George+Great+Adventure+Project

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toc =Great Adventure Project=

Part A: At the Park

 * 1. Distances and Angles**

From Wikipedia, ultimaterollercoaster.com , and data collected from Great Adventure
 * = Height of Starting Point (m) ||= Height at Top of Hill (m) ||= Height at Bottom of Hill (m) ||= Radius of Curve at Bottom of Hill (m) ||= Angle of Initial Incline (degrees) ||= Angle of Initial Descent (degrees) ||
 * = 0 ||= 29.3 ||= 3.4 ||= 23.5 ||= 45 ||= 45 ||


 * 2. Time**


 * || Up First Hill (s) || Down First Hill (s) ||
 * Trial 1 || 48.30 || 2.97 ||
 * Trial 2 || 46.27 || 3.04 ||
 * Trial 3 || 47.12 || 3.08 ||
 * Trial 4 || 48.11 || 2.99 ||
 * Trial 5 || 47.90 || 3.01 ||
 * Average || 47.54 || 3.018 ||


 * 3. Diagrams**


 * ~ **FBD of Car on Way Up:** ||


 * ~ **FBD of Car on Way Down:** ||


 * ~ **FBD of Car at Bottom:** ||


 * ~ **FBD of Mass on String on Way Up:**

||
 * ~ **FBD of Mass on String on Way Down:** ||




 * ~ **FBD of Mass on String at Bottom:** ||




 * Labeled Sketch (Top View): || Labeled Sketch (Side View): ||



From Theme Park Review
 * Side View Picture:**

media type="file" key="Rolling Thunder POV Six Flags Great Adventure.mp4" width="300" height="300" From Youtube
 * Video:**


 * 4. Graphs**


 * 5. Evaluate**

a. Safety: What features were in place?

The trains use buzz bars that lock into position, as well as seat dividers and headrests. It also uses skid brakes to create friction and cause wheels to get off the ground in order to slow down the roller coaster. At the same time, Six Flags makes sure that only one train runs at a time in rainy weather.

b. Describe the weight sensations on the way up, on the way down, and at the bottom of the first hill: did you feel lighter, heavier, or normal?

On the way up, you are pressed back against your seat and feel somewhat heavier than usual. At the top of the hill, you feel the lightest. Going down the hill, you continue to feel lighter than usual (though not as much as at the top) and once you reach the bottom, you feel the heaviest.

c. Describe the excitement level: on the way up, on the way down, and at the bottom of the first hill. As one goes up the roller coaster and reaches the highest point, their excitement increases at a slow rate because the anticipation of the drop is building. On the way down, the excitement increases drastically because of the acceleration. At the bottom, the level of excitement drops dramatically once the acceleration ends.

d. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g's). Other thrill factors that may contribute to these feelings of excitement includes the sensation of weightlessness. When one feels lighter (at the top of the hill), excitement increases, but when one feels heavier (at the bottom of the hill), excitement decreases. At the same time, the backlash from air resistance can also add to the excitement of the rider.


 * 6. Thinking about Physics**

a. Explain the behavior of the mass on the string. Did the FBD of the car correlate to that of the mass? Why or why not?

The mass on the string was fairly predictable. As we angled up or down, the tension of string broke into components according to that angle. In that respect, the FBD of the car correlated to that of the mass.

b. Did the #gs correlate to the sensation of weight?

Yes. At the top of the hill there were close to no g's, and the sensation is feeling almost weightless. At the bottom of the hill, there are the most #g's, and the sensation is feeling the heaviest.

c. Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do?

Distance vs. time: The roller coaster's position increases in distance from its starting point as it ascends the hill and then decreases in distance from the starting point as it descends from the top of the hill.

Velocity vs time: The velocity of the roller coaster is relatively constant as it ascends the hill, but the roller coaster accelerates (or increases its velocity) as it descends from the top of the hill.

Acceleration vs time: The roller coaster experiences no acceleration as it ascends the hill because it moves at a relatively constant speed. However, as it descends from the hill it experiences acceleration.

Part B: Back at School
1. Calculate Experimental Values
 * Speed at bottom of the first hill
 * Acceleration down the first hill

2. Calculate Theoretical Values
 * Power needed to get up hill
 * Assume average mass of rider is 50 kg
 * Speed at bottom of the first hill
 * Acceleration down the first hill
 * Power needed to get up hill

3. Evaluate Accuracy of the 3 Calculations Above 4. Evaluate Safety
 * Speed at bottom of first hill
 * Acceleration down the first hill
 * Power needed to get up the hill
 * Calculate #gs on the way down the hill and at the bottom of the hill
 * Were #gs within safe limits? Yes!
 * Was there correlation between #gs and excitement level. Explain, providing evidence. Yes, there was a correlation between the #gs and excitement level. As the #gs increases, so does the excitement. This is known due to the fact that excitement rose tremendously as the roller coaster made its way down the hill. At the same time, the #gs increases as this occurs.

Part A: At the Park
From Wikipedia and sixflags.com
 * 1) **Distances and Angles**
 * Height at Top of Loop (m) || Height of First Hill (m) || Length of Car (m) || Radius of Loop (m) ||
 * 36.9 || 46.9 ||  || 18.53 ||

2. **Time**


 * || Time for the single car to travel past the top position on the loop (s) ||
 * Trial 1 || 1.92 ||
 * Trial 2 || 2.01 ||
 * Trial 3 || 1.95 ||
 * Trial 4 || 1.90 ||
 * Trial 5 || 2.00 ||
 * Average || 1.956 ||
 * 3.** **Diagrams**

||
 * ~ FBD of car/rider at top of loop:
 * ~ FBD of mass on spring at top of loop: ||
 * Labeled Sketch (Top View):**


 * Labeled Sketch (Side View):**

From Coaster-net.com media type="file" key="Green Lantern 2.mov" width="300" height="300" From Youtube
 * Side View Picture:**
 * Video:**

4. **Graphs**



5. **Evaluate**

a. Describe the safety features on this coaster This coaster has tight straps acting on each rider to make sure that they do not fall off the platform they are standing on. At the same time, the platforms are able to adjust for each individual rider's height to make the ride experience more comfortable and secure. From nj.com

b. Describe the excitement level that you felt at the top, side and bottom of the loop. The level of excitement is highest at the top of the loop due to the sensation of weightless. It then becomes lower at the side of the loop once some sensation of weight is restored and finally reaches a minimum once the roller coaster gets to the bottom of the loop (where apparent weight is greatest).

c. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g’s) One factor that could contribute to these feelings could be weightlessness. This atypical sensation can supply an adrenaline rush the riders would not normally have. Another factor could be due to air resistance, which the riders experience all over their body during the ride.

d. Describe the weight sensations at the top, side and bottom of the loop.: did you feel lighter, heavier, or normal? You feel lighter at the top of the loop, mostly normal weight at the side of the loop, and heavier at the bottom of the loop


 * 5. Thinking about Physics**

a. Explain the behavior of the mass on the string. Did the FBD of the car correlate to that of the mass? Why or why not?

The mass on the string stayed at the center of the circle while my hand traced around it, with the string being the radius. This does not correlate to the FBD of the car around the loop. As the car travels around the loop, the normal force becomes less and less because the passenger "comes out of his/her seat".

b. Did the #gs correlate to the sensation of weight?

Yes. At the top of the hill there were close to no g's, and the sensation is feeling almost weightless. At the bottom of the hill, there are the most #g's, and the sensation is feeling the heaviest.

c. Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do?

Velocity vs. Time: velocity decreases over time as the car nears the top of the loop, and then increases as the car accelerates down the loop.

Acceleration vs. TIme: Constant negative acceleration going up the loop, constant positive acceleration down the loop.

Centripetal Force vs. Time: As the passenger nears the top of the loop, normal force decreases, creating the feeling of weightlessness. The normal force returns as the passenger goes down the loop.

Thrill vs. Acceleration: As the passenger accelerates more down the loop, the thrill increases.

Part B: Back at School
1. Calculate Experimental Values 2. Calculate Theoretical Values
 * Speed at top of loop
 * Centripetal Acceleration
 * Minimum speed at top of loop

4. Evaluate Safety 10.58/9.8 = **1.08 g's**
 * 13.48 m/s**
 * Speed at top of loop
 * 14 m/s**
 * Centripetal Acceleration
 * 10.58 m/s^2**
 * Apparent Weight
 * Assume average mass of rider is 60 kg
 * 46.65 N**
 * Calculate #gs.
 * Were #gs within safe limits? Yes!
 * Was there correlation between #gs and excitement level. Explain, providing evidence. Yes, there was a correlation between the #gs and excitement level. As the #gs increases, so does the excitement. This is known due to the fact that excitement rose tremendously as the roller coaster made its way around the loop. At the same time, the #gs increases as this occurs.

**Part A: At the Park**
Taken from observations at Six Flags
 * 1) **Distance and Angles**
 * Radius of Circular Path (m) || Angle of Seats (degrees) ||
 * 6.11 m || 0 ||

2. **Time**


 * || Period at Maximum Speed (s) ||
 * Trial 1 || 4.08 ||
 * Trial 2 || 4.12 ||
 * Trial 3 || 4.10 ||
 * Trial 4 || 4.07 ||
 * Trial 5 || 4.20 ||
 * Average || 4.114 ||

3. **Diagrams**


 * ~ FBD of Car/Rider at Max Height: ||

||
 * ~ FBD of Car/Rider at Min Height: ||
 * ~ FBD of Car/Rider of Mass on Spring at Max Height:


 * ~ FBD of Mass on Spring at Min Height: ||


 * Labeled Sketch (Top View):**


 * Labeled Sketch (Side View):**

From Theme Park Review
 * Side View Picture:**

media type="file" key="Six Flags Great Adventure Jolly Roger ride.mp4" width="300" height="300" From Youtube
 * Video:**


 * 4.** **Graphs**

5. **Evaluation**

a. Describe the safety of this ride. This ride is perhaps one of the safest in the park. It is built as a family ride in which riders (most of whom are little children) are barred securely into the cars. At the same time, the cars are evenly spaced and never pick up extremely fast speeds.

b. Describe the excitement level that you feel at the min/max height. For someone our age, the excitement level on this ride is for the most part constant and very low. However, there is periodic change in excitement (excitement is highest at the maximum height and lowest at the minimum height).

c. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings. There are several factors that may contribute to these feelings. First, the change in height leads to fluctuations in apparent weight, which could be very exciting to a rider (especially one who is young). When a rider feels less weight, they would likely feel more thrilled; when a rider feels more weight, the effect will be reversed. Also, air resistance can add to the excitement of the ride.

d. Describe the weight sensations at the top, side, and bottom of the loop. Did you feel lighter, heavier, or normal? The rider feels lighter than normal at the top and heavier than normal at the bottom.


 * 5. Thinking about Physics**

a. Explain the behavior of the mass on the string. Did the FBD of the car correlate to that of the mass? Why or why not? The mass on the string angled outward because there was no centripetal force keeping it in the path of circle other than my hand. The FBD's did not match up.

b. Did the #gs correlate to the sensation of weight? It didn't really come into play for this ride because it was slow moving.

c. Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do? Acceleration vs time- The ride accelerates at a constant rate until the cars reach a certain speed; at this point, the ride stops accelerating so that the cars can revolve at a constant speed.

Fc vs. time- Centripetal force remains constant throughout the duration of the ride, especially as there is only one centripetal force acting on the rider (the normal force of the car's wall against the rider).

Thrill vs. time- Thrill increases at a constant rate as the ride makes its initial acceleration; however, once the ride reaches a constant speed, the level of thrill experiences minor fluctuations due to the change in height of the cars during the ride.