Roller Coaster Project

1. Roller Coaster Project Group 5

2. The goal of this project is to build a roller coaster for marbles using foam pipe insulation and to investigate how much height is needed I order for the marble to run through a loop of fixed size. Objective

3. At least two 6 foot ( 183cm) sections of 1-1/2 in (about 4cm) diameter foam pipe insulation Glass marbles Utility knife Masking tape Tape measure Bookshelf, table, or other support for roller coaster starting point. Materials

4. Potential energy: is energy stored in a system of forcefully interacting physical entities. Kinetic energy: an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion. Conservation of energy: a principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be altered from one form to another. Gravity: the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth. Velocity: the speed of something in a given direction Friction: the resistance that once surface or object encounters when moving over another. Slope: a surface of which one end or side is at a higher level than another a rising or falling surface. Terms and Concepts

5. How high do you have to make the starting point of your roller coaster in order for the marble to "loop –the-loop"? It has to be 46 inches high in order for the marble to loop twice. Questions

6. Gather up all materials Form roller coaster with the foam tubes Tape the tubes to the wall and the desk to make it stay Place marble on the highest ramp and let it fall Test the conversation of potential energy to kinetic energy Test the procedure 10 times Procedures Observation: throughout the experiment we tested a marble looping over a loop multiple times. In several occasions when we attempted to test our experiment we failed. We began at a height of 30 inches which resulted in an unfavorable outcome. We adjusted the ramp to 38 inches and again encountered an undesired result. Finally when the ramp was adjusted for 46 inches we achieved our objective.

7. What happens if you test marbles of different diameter on your roller coaster? Can they all loop the loop? If some marbles can't make it, can you figure out why? After the first marble we used to loop the loop, we decided to try a larger marble. When this was tested we figured out that the largest marble was not able to loop the loop. Therefore according to the results not all marbles can loop the loop. In order for larger marbles to loop the loop the roller coasters height must be adjusted.

8. How does the height requirement change when the loop diameter increases? How does the height requirement change when the loop diameter decreases? As the loops diameter increase the height of the roller coaster must also increase.

9. Can you think of a way to stabilize the loop so that it doesn't wobble? With a stabilized loop, can the marble start at a lower height and still make it through the loop? The use of tape to stabilize the foam tube proved inefficient due to the roller coaster still wobbling to an extent. Perhaps with a stabilized loop the chances for the marble to loop could increase because the wobbling of the tubes will no longer be variable.