Getting Loopy!
Roller Coaster Challenge
Focus Question: How can you get your marble to
go the fastest and still land safely in the cup?
Introduction
Rollerland has been hearing from its customers that
their roller coasters are boring. The public is
threatening that if the amusement park does not
build a new, more exciting roller coaster they will
stop going to the amusement park!
You are part of a team of engineers that has just been asked to submit a new roller coaster design to
the amusement park. Using the concepts of forces, motion, and energy, design and build a model of
a workable roller coaster that could be built in Rollerland.
To appease the public, your roller coaster must have a “thrill factor.” There must be at least one loop,
at least one turn, at least one hill, and if possible, a “jump.” Your roller coaster also needs to be safe
for the public, so the passengers must arrive safely at the end of the ride.
Objectives: You will design a roller coaster to safely transport a marble to the cup at the end of the
ride. During this activity, you will:
● Demonstrate Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion
● Apply concepts of inertia, momentum, force, speed, acceleration, and friction.
● Explain how energy is always conserved.
Background:
Engineers that build theme park rides need to understand the science behind their creation. How fast
and high can the ride go while still ensuring the safety of the passengers?
Roller coasters rely on two types of energy to operate: gravitational potential energy and kinetic
energy. Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has stored because of its mass and its
height off the ground. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because of its mass and its velocity.
When a roller-coaster car reaches the very top of its first big hill it has a lot of potential energy
because it is very high off the ground. It moves over the top of the hill very slowly, so it has almost no
kinetic energy. Then it drops down the other side of the hill and starts going very fast as its height
rapidly decreases. The potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. This process repeats as the
car goes through hills, loops, twists and turns. Whenever it goes up it gains more potential energy
with height but loses kinetic energy as it slows down. Energy is never created or destroyed—it just
converts from one form to another. This principle is known as conservation of energy.
We know from experience, however, that a roller coaster doesn't keep going forever. Eventually it
slows down because of friction (a combination of air resistance and contact with the track). If energy
isn't created or destroyed, where does that energy go? It is converted into heat. This is why you can
rub your hands together to warm them up—friction converts energy from your moving hands into
heat!
Any object has a property known as inertia. Inertia is the resistance of an object to a change in
its position (or its current motion). This is Newton’s First Law. Newton’s first law of motion states
that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion at a
constant speed in a straight line. That is, the state of motion of an object does not change unless it is
acted upon by an unbalanced force. Therefore, if the net force is 0, nothing happens. Objects already
in motion have momentum. Momentum is the tendency of a moving object to keep moving.
Newton’s second law of motion states that the
relationship between force, mass, and acceleration is F
= ma. More force makes things accelerate at a greater
rate, and more mass slows the rate of acceleration.
Newton’s third law of motion states that for every
action force, there is an equal and opposite reaction
force. Forces always occur in pairs, never alone. When
you push on something, it pushes back with an equal
amount of force in the opposite direction.
Design Criteria
a. Build a roller coaster with at least 1 hill, 1 loop and 1 turn.
b. Your marble must not fall off until it gets to the end of the track.
c. Your roller coaster cannot have a top.
d. Your marble must land in the cup at the end of the run.
e. You may test your design as you go.
Part 1: Review Concepts
Define the following terms. Then, explain how you would encounter each term on a roller coaster
ride.
Term Define (in own words) How does this apply to roller
coasters?
Force
Speed
Gravity
Energy
Friction
Gravitational
Potential Energy
Kinetic Energy
Conservation of
Energy
Momentum
Inertia
Part 2: Roller Coaster Design
How can you design your ride to optimize the speed of your marble?
Imagine some possible roller coaster designs. Draw your roller coaster’s design below. Be sure to
include:
❏ Labels for your hills, loops, and turns.
❏ Label the start and end
❏ Draw arrows to show direction of movement
❏ Which materials you are using
Label where you’d find the:
❏ Most Potential Energy
❏ Most Kinetic Energy
❏ Least Potential Energy
❏ Least Kinetic Energy
❏ Newton’s First Law of Inertia
❏ Newton’s Second Law (Hint: How will the roller coaster provide enough force to keep
the marble accelerating throughout the whole ride?)
❏ Newton’s Third Law
Design 1
Part 3: Prototype and Test
Now it’s time to build your prototype roller coaster! Make sure that while you are building, that you
are measuring the length of your track in meters.
Compare your coaster to the rubric. Did you meet all of the requirements? If not, what could you do to
improve your coaster?
After you’ve finished, test out your times. Do 5 trials using a stopwatch.
Trial Time in seconds
Now let’s calculate average time by adding all of your times together and dividing it by the number of
trials (5).
Show your work:
Average time: _____________________
Okay, time to calculate your average speed. Remember,
average speed = total distance/total time
So, you need to measure the distance of your entire track in meters.
Show your work:
Average speed: _____________________
STOP! Make sure you have video footage of your roller coaster before moving on!!!
Part 4: Post-Ride Questions
1. What specific things did you notice affected the speed of the marble? Where was it the
fastest? Where was it the slowest? (4 points)
2. What do you think is happening to the “energy” of the marble at its highest point? At its
fastest? (4 points)
3. What forces slowed down your marble? (2 point)
4. The park operators have requested that you make the ride a little slower so that it's enjoyable
for younger kids and adults. What could you do to allow the marble to reach the ground at a
slower rate? (4 points)
5. What do you think you could change to make your design better? (4 points)
Rubric
Review Terms
Did you define the term in your own words accurately? Did you state how the concept applies to roller
coasters?
Criteria Points Possible
Force 2
Speed 2
Gravity 2
Energy 2
Friction 2
Gravitational Potential Energy 2
Kinetic Energy 2
Conservation of Energy 2
Momentum 2
Inertia 2
Points Earned _____/20 points
Design
Criteria Points Possible
Design tuned in 2
Labeled Turn/Loop/Hill 2
Labeled Start/End 2
Labeled Arrows 2
Labeled Materials 2
Labeled where PE is the most on the ride 2
Labeled where PE is the least on the ride 2
Labeled where KE is the most on the ride 2
Labeled where KE is the least on the ride 2
Labeled Newton’s 1st Law on the ride 2
Labeled Newton’s 2nd Law on the ride 2
Labeled Newton’s 3rd Law on the ride 2
Points Earned _____/24 points
Roller Coaster
Criteria Points Possible
Completed Roller Coaster 6
Was the roller coaster completed on time. (Final
Exam Day)
Creativity 6
Does the roller coaster have
a name? Is there anything unique about
this roller coaster?
Thrill Factor 6
Does your coaster have at least one turn, loop,
and hill?
Safety 6
Does your marble stay on the track the entire
time and make it to the end of the ride?
Durability 6
Does your ride stand up on its own? Is it strong
enough to withstand multiple rides?
Points Earned _____/30 points
Data
Criteria Points Possible
Trials 6
Did you collect ride time for all 5 trials?
Average Time 6
Did you accurately calculate average time? Did
you show your work? Did you include units?
Average Speed 6
Did you accurately calculate average speed?
Did you show your work? Did you include units?
Points Earned _____/18 points
Post-Ride Questions
Points Earned _____/18 points
Video Footage
Points Earned _____/10 points
TOTAL
Points Earned _____/100 points
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