Lauren+and+Kaila

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Activity A
RUNAWAY MINE TRAIN (the first drop of a roller coaster) Data: Images: [|Image Source] Video: [|Runaway Mine Train Video] - Side View - Top View Graphs: Free Body Diagrams: - Car on the way up - Car on the way down - Mass on string on the way up - Mass on string on the way down - Mass on string at the bottom Sample Calculations: EXPERIMENTAL: Speed at bottom of first hill: Acceleration down first hill: Power needed to get up hill: THEORETICAL: Speed at bottom of first hill: Acceleration down first hill: Power needed to get up hill: Evaluate the accuracy of the 3 calculations above: __**Analysis:**__
 * 1) **Evaluate**
 * 2) Safety: What features were in place?
 * 3) There are several safety features in place that prevent injury or damage from occurring to the passengers on the ride. There's protection in the form of seat belts, buckles, and bars that keep the rider held in place, and make sure that he/she doesn't fall out of the ride. There are lots of support systems that support the heaviness and extreme speed of the ride, which also provide safety, for they keep the ride running smoothly and safely.
 * 4) 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?
 * 5) On the way up: lighter
 * 6) On the way down: heavier
 * 7) At the bottom of the first hill: normal
 * 8) Describe the excitement level: on the way up, on the way down, and at the bottom of the first hill.
 * 9) On the way up: very excited
 * 10) On the way down: very excited
 * 11) At the bottom of the first hill: less excited
 * 12) Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g’s)
 * 13) Mentally, while on the hill itself, one has much more excitement. After going up and down it, however these feelings lessen (the sensation is over).
 * 14) **Evaluate Safety**
 * 15) Calculate #g’s on the way down the hill and at the bottom of the hill
 * 16) [[image:Screen_shot_2012-05-27_at_10.42.09_PM.png]]
 * 17) Were #g’s within safe limits?
 * 18) Yes, given that human can endure anywhere from up to 4-6 g's, this ride is very safe.
 * 19) Was there correlation between #g’s and excitement level? Explain, providing evidence.
 * 20) Yes, there is correlation between the number of g's and the excitement level. This is supported by the thrill versus acceleration graph, which depicts that the excitement levels increases as the acceleration increases.
 * 21) **Thinking about Physics**
 * 22) 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?
 * 23) On the way up, the string leaned in the backward direction, towards the person holding it, while on the way down, the string was pointed in the opposite direction, with the tension pointing towards the right. The behavior of the mass should correlate to that of the mass because it acts like an aplomb, and has all of the same forces acting upon it.
 * 24) Did the #g’s correlate to the sensation of weight?
 * 25) Yes, the number of g's does correlate to the sensation of weight; as the acceleration (number of g's) increases, so does the weight sensation.
 * 26) Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do.
 * 27) Distance versus Time
 * 28) Initially, the speed of the ride is not too fast, which causes the distance to be covered over a longer interval of time. As the ride begins to pick up speed, on the way down the first hill for example, it begins covering more distance in smaller amounts of time.
 * 29) Velocity versus Time
 * 30) On the way up the hill, the velocity of the ride remains constant. However, as it comes down, its acceleration greatly increases.
 * 31) Acceleration versus Time
 * 32) While going up the incline, there is no acceleration (velocity remains the same). On the way down, on the other hand, its acceleration increases.
 * 33) Thrill versus Acceleration
 * 34) There is a directly proportional relationship between the thrill and acceleration; as the acceleration increases, so does the magnitude of thrill.

**Activity B**
SUPERMAN (a vertical loop of a roller coaster) __ **Data:** __ __ **Sample Calculations:** __ __ **Analysis:** __

Activity C
TEACUPS (a rotating ride) __**Data:**__ LINK TO EXCEL SPREADSHEET: __**Pictures and Sketches:**__ (video would not upload) the picture below shows a side view of the ride:

top view: Below shows a top view of part of the ride. It shows the entire circular base, and then one cluster of three individual teacups. __**FBDs and Graphs:**__

graphs:

a) Describe the safety features of this ride. There is a gate on each teacup that locks so you can't fall out while at high speeds. You can also use the middle part to hold on to so that you don't sway back and forth too much. There is also the factor of speed control for at least one portion of it, where you can control whether or not to move the individual tea cup, and if so, how fast to move it.
 * __Evaluate:__**

b) describe the excitement level that you felt at max speed. At max speed, there is a moderate to high excitement level, and I felt kind of dizzy.

c) Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g's) The thrill factors that contribute to this excitement level are because there is a triple rotation going on. The entire floor rotates, as well as a group of three teacups, and finally each individual teacup has the ability to rotate. There is also a lack of seat belts to hold you in place.

__**Sample Calculations:**__ __1) Experimental Values:__ a. Average Speed b. Centripetal Acceleration

c. Apparent Weight

__2) Theoretical Values:__ a. Average Speed this link says that a sample teacup ride goes at about 6rpm (I could not find one for the teacups at Great Adventure, so this number might be a little bit off, which could lead to mistakes further on): http://www.amusementtrader.com/188/major-rides/listings/3817/1980-Vertigo-teacup-type-family-ride-%28TM%29.html

b. Centripetal Acceleration c. Apparent Weight

__3) Evaluate Accuracy:__ a) average speed %error = |(theoretical-experimental)/theoretical| = |(9.3-7.59)/9.3| = 18.4%

b)centripetal acceleration %error = |5.8-3.87)/5.8| = 33.3%

c) apparent weight %error = |(200-296.9)/200| = 48.5%

__4) Evaluate Safety:__ a. #g's 3.87/9.8 = .395g's b. Was there a correlation between #g's and excitement level? The reason this ride is more exciting than the number of g's might indicate is because of the triple rotation involved.

__**Analysis:**__ __Thinking about the 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 a string does not have the same centripetal force acting upon it as the teacup does. It also has a component of tension that the cart does not have. The cart has a normal force and the mass on a string does not have this. Both have weight acting upon them.

b) Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do. - Centripetal Force vs time For this graph, the centripetal force increases as the teacup spins. It takes some amount of time for the teacup to reach maximum speed, and then it begins to go back down again as the speed decreases.

- acceleration vs time The acceleration increases as the time increases, but at a certain point, it is at a constant speed and not accelerating anymore. It then levels out at zero, but as the ride slows, the acceleration picks up again, and the line is below the x-axis to show a decrease.

- thrill vs acceleration The thrill increases as the acceleration increases, but thrill is constant when acceleration stops, and then picks back up again as the acceleration picks up when the ride slows down.