Task
Create Your Own Roller Coaster!
After completing the activities related to motion, energy, and force, it is now time for you to create your own roller coaster. Are you ready?! It's time to put your knowledge to the test and create your winning roller coaster. Read on to learn more.
The company building the new Brisbane Amusement Park is holding a roller coaster design competition. The winning design will be featured at the new park. The design must comply with the laws of physics, offer a thrilling ride that is also safe, and involve creativity. The roller coaster design should be aimed at 15-17 year olds. Consider themes and/or other aspects that would intrigue teenagers. Each design team will consist of three members. All members are required to contribute to the creation of the roller coaster and use their physics knowledge to determine the coaster logistics. A summary sheet is required and should be handed in with your roller coaster design. It should include an outline of the roller coaster design, an explanation of the physics applied to the design as well as the formulas used and results obtained [can be the engineer's document]. The roles of the artist, engineer, and advertiser should be divided among the team members.
Artist: The artist is responsible for drawing the roller coaster. A scale should be used and provided in order to represent a realistic coaster shape. On the drawing, the artist should label the height, force, and energy at all points along the roller coaster.
Engineer: Although all members are responsible for using physics to create the roller coaster, the engineer must document all the physics processes used and results obtained in the creation of the coaster. A document should be provided detailing this information.
Advertiser: In order to sell your roller coaster design to the company, it must be presented well. The advertiser is responsible for creating an attractive and appealing representation of the roller coaster for advertising purposes. This advertisement should portray the thrill as well as the safety of the roller coaster. This could be in the form of a poster, brochure, PowerPoint presentation, TV/radio commercial, or whatever you can think of. Your teacher must approve your chosen advertisement method.
Refer to the assessment rubric found under the Assessment tab on the homepage to guide your work. Helpful resources to aid you in the creation of your roller coaster can be found under the extra resources on the Roller Coaster Physics tab. Also, make use of the discussion board under the Wiki Discussion Board tab while designing your roller coaster. You can communicate with classmates as you run into problems or want to discuss certain elements of the project. This discussion board is not to be used to steal each other's ides but rather to promote collaboration, which will hopefully lead to a better understanding of roller coaster physics. Good luck and may the roller coaster force be with you!
