Stephanie_and_Jon

= = =** Roller Coaster Project: **= Jonathan Itskovitch & Stephanie Wang


 * Activity A: First Drop of a Roller Coaster**

Batman
[|Measurements From Batman The Ride] []

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There was a U shaped bar that went over your chest and and another belt that went between your legs. This allowed the rider to stay in their seat and not fall off when the ride was in motion. They did not let you carry loose articles onto the ride, since they could fall and affect the roller coaster or hit other riders. Also, the brake system slows down and stops the ride so it doesn't rely soley on friction to stop. As we went up, we felt lighter than we normally do. As a matter of fact, we felt lightest on the top of the hill. On the way down, we felt heavier than we normally do. On the bottom of the first hill, we felt a lot heavier than we normally do. It was at this point that we felt the heaviest. On the way up, we were excited but also anxious. The ascent was pretty slow, so it was not that thrilling. The way down was very exciting since the roller coaster was going really fast and accelerating. The bottom of the first hill was also extremely exciting because that is where you experience the greatest number of g's. Since we were in the front row, we couldn't see the tracks in front of us or the cars in front of us. Therefore, every twist and turn took us by surprise and we never knew what would happen next. The wind blowing in our faces also added to the excitement. Furthermore, the screaming of the other passengers added to the thrill of riding the roller coaster. We probably felt the most excited on the way down the first hill since we had built up a lot of anticipation from the long, slow climb up. CALCULATIONS:
 * 5) Evaluate**
 * a. Safety: What features were in place?**
 * 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?**
 * c. Describe the excitement level: on the way up, on the way down, and at the bottom of the first hill.**
 * d. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g’s)**

We got really good results, since our percent errors were all under 10% except for one. The percent error for speed at the bottom of the hills is 3.35%. The percent error for acceleration down the hill was 6.59%, and the percent error for power is 28%. This is very good, as there are several sources of error. First, it was very hard to get precise times. Since we had to use stopwatches, it was hard to get the exact time since we had to factor in our reaction time. Also, the trees obscured our view a little bit, it was hard to procure an exact time. Also, the scene was very distracting, with people screaming and running around. This probably affected our reaction time with the stop watches. The number of g’s on the way down the hill is .61 g’s. The number of g’s at the bottom of the hill is also .61 g’s. Yes, this is within the safe limit of g’s since it is below 4 g’s. Yes, the more g’s, the more exciting the ride was. This makes sense since the more g’s, the faster the ride was accelerating and the faster it was going. And, the faster the ride went, the more exciting the ride was. The mass on string leaned towards us when we were ascending the hill, and away from us when we were going down the hill. This correlates to the FBD of the car since they are both part of the same system. Yes, the more number of g’s, the more apparent weight you had.
 * 3) Evaluate Accuracy of the 3 calculations above. **
 * 4) Evaluate Safety **
 * a. Calculate #g’s on the way down the hill and at the bottom of the hill **
 * b. Were #g’s within safe limits? **
 * c. Was there correlation between #g’s and excitement level? Explain, providing evidence. **
 * 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? **
 * b) Did the #g’s correlate to the sensation of weight? **
 * c) Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do. **
 * Distance vs Time
 * First, the car has to climb the hill. At this point, it is going slowly. This is represented on the graph as a small slope. Then, after it reaches the apex of the hill, it speeds up. This is why is has a bigger slope after it reaches the peak.
 * Velocity vs Time
 * As the car goes up the hill, it is travelling at constant speed. Then, it goes down the hill and its velocity increases since it is accelerating. It is negative since it is going downhill, in the negative direction.
 * Acceleration vs Time
 * Since the car goes up the hill at constant speed, there is no acceleration. Then, it goes down the hill and accelerates downhill, in the negative direction.
 * Thrill vs Acceleration
 * The bigger the acceleration, the larger the thrill factor.

Green Lantern
[|Measurements Green Lantern]

[]

[] There is a height restriction for this ride, so you must be over 54 inches to ride. There is also a heavy bar that holds you to the ride, as this is a standing ride and has no seats. Also, you cannot carry loose items onto this ride, as they could fall and present a hazard. The bottom of the loop was the most exciting since that is where you experience the most g's. However, the top was just as exhilarating since you were basically standing upside down. The side of the loop would be the least thrilling, but was still really fun. What made this ride really unique is the fact that riders stand up during its duration. This makes Green Lantern unlike other roller coasters, and added a new layer of excitement to the attraction. This ride was also exciting because of the sheer height. It is 154 feet tall, and includes a 121 foot tall loop, a 103 foot dive loop, and twisted double corkscrews. The sheer number of loops, hills, and dives made this ride thrilling. ([]) At the top of the loop, we felt a lot lighter than normal. We felt almost weightless. Then, at the side of the loop, we felt. At the bottom of the loop, however, we felt a lot heavier than normal. It was at this point that we felt the heaviest.
 * 5) Evaluate**
 * a. Describe the safety features on this coaster**
 * b. Describe the excitement level that you felt at the top, side and bottom of the loop.**
 * c. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g’s)**
 * d. Describe the weight sensations at the top, side and bottom of the loop.: did you feel lighter, heavier, or normal?**

Sky Screamer


media type="file" key="0523121108.3g2" width="300" height="300" There is a counterweight system in place. When the part of the ride with the riders goes up, the counterweight moves down to keep the whole thing balanced. There is also a two part safety belt that keeps riders from slipping out the seats. There is a bar that goes down on your lap as well as a belt that goes between your legs. The ride was definitely more exciting at max speed than at slower speeds. It was very exciting, and felt almost like flying in the air. However, this ride was definitely not as exciting as some of the other roller coasters such as Batman or Nitro. This ride was exciting because it was so high up. Also, the ride spun around with a large diameter, giving the riders a panoramic view of the surrounding areas. This was pretty exciting since you could see the entire park from a different perspective. Also, since your legs hang off of the seat, it feels like you are flying. This ride traveled in a horizontal loop, so the weight sensation was the same regardless of the position. However, we definitely felt lighter when the ride was going at max speed. The sensation felt a lot like flying CALCULATIONS:
 * 5) Evaluate**
 * a. Describe the safety features of this ride**
 * b. Describe the excitement level that you felt at the min and max height (if vertical), or at max speed (if horizontal)**
 * c. Describe the thrill factors that may contribute to those feelings (besides the #g’s).**
 * d. Describe the weight sensations at the top, side and bottom of the loop.: did you feel lighter, heavier, or normal?**

We got really good results for this part. We got a .38% percent error for the speed, a .75% percent error for the centripetal acceleration, and a .56% percent error for the apparent weight. We got really good results for this part for a couple of reasons. We talked to the engineer who helped design the ride and were able to grasp a better understanding of the components of the ride. Also, since this was a horizontal circle, gravity and GPE didn’t play a role. Furthermore, there was little to no friction present since there was no track. However, even though we got really good results, they were not perfect. This is probably due to our reaction times when trying the time the period. Also, it was difficult at times to find time 1 exact period, it might have been a little bit less or more. The maximum number of g’s is 2.82 g’s. Yes, the higher the number of g’s, the higher the excitement level. The mass on string was parallel to the angle of the seat. This correlates to the FBD of the car since they are both part of the same system and are affected by the same forces. b) Discuss the graphs that you created and why they curve the way that they do.
 * 3) Evaluate Accuracy **
 * 4) Evaluate Safety **
 * a. #g’s **
 * b. Was there correlation between #g’s and excitement level? **
 * 4) 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? **
 * Fc vs t
 * Since the centripetal force doesn’t change over time (the Sky Screamer is a horizontal circle), the graph is just a horizontal line at the value of the centripetal force.
 * a vs t
 * There is no linear acceleration so the graph is a horizontal line at 0.
 * Thrill vs Acceleration
 * The bigger the acceleration, the larger the thrill factor.