Jesus Castro Siles

Mr. Qian

Physics Period 5

13 March 2017

ISSN Reflection

The purpose of the project was to see how energy is changed to allow the marble to go

through the loops with the help of gravity. By building a rollercoaster we are able to see how the

size of the a loop and the height of the starting point will determine whether a marble will be

able to go through it or not. As well this project allowed us to see in real life how the the many

theorems and formula learned in physics applies to real life situations and how they are applied

to.

The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is what drives the roller coaster, and

all of the kinetic energy you need for the ride is present once the coaster descends the first hill.

Once you're underway, different types of wheels help keep the ride smooth. Since roller coasters

don’t have engines, they must be pulled by a motorized chain to the top of the first big hill. As

the roller coaster rises higher and higher into the air, its potential energy keeps growing until it

reaches its maximum potential energy at the crest of the hill.

Potential energy is sometimes known as positional energy. Potential energy represents the

amount of work the roller coaster will be able to do with the energy it builds up from falling

down the other side of the hill. Once the roller coaster gets past the very first drop gravity does

pretty much the rest. The first loop has to be the highest of the rest so the rest can get through all

the loops. Kinetic energy is eventually lost throughout the ride casing it to slow down as it goes.
 The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed,

thus, the purpose of the ascent of the first hill is to build up potential energy that will then be

converted to kinetic energy as the ride progresses. The initial hill, or the lift hill, is the tallest in

the entire ride. As the train is pulled to the top, it gains potential energy. Explained by potential

energy in the formula U=mgh. U is potential energy, m is mass, g is acceleration due to gravity

and h is height above the ground.

When constructing the rollercoaster with my group and I, our first attempt contained 3

loops the first loop at the height of 28 inches, the second loop at 18 inches, and the third loop at

floor level; the starting point was about 57 inches to allow velocity to be gained for the marble to

be able to go through the loops successfully. This attempt was very successful for a majority of

the test runs were successfully however what led to failure was when having to stick it down to

the board the loops became unsteady and in a way flimsy which disrupted the marbles velocity,

resulting to the marble either going out of path or not completing the loops. Another thing that

led to failure was the paint we had applied to it may have cause a sort of friction to occur on the

surface which may resulted to the marble to not complete the loop. Our second attempt in

constructing the rollercoaster was making the loops at floor level and the the two first loops had

a height of 6.5 inches and the third loop was around 3.5 inches. The starting point continued to

be 57 inches for the marble to gain velocity for it to complete the loops successfully. The many

test runs that we performed on the marble mostly came out successfully except for some times

when the marble would suddenly drop from the third loop or it would gain too much velocity and

get out of the path.

If a roller coaster was made for a specific type of marble it wouldn't work as efficiently

for another marble. Since it's diameter and mass may be different the marble may go a lot faster
or a lot slower. When the marble goes through the loops which can wobble the coaster. If the

roller coaster is stabilized the marble may go quite a bit faster. The coaster may be stabilized by

adding a few attached forms of sticks. This can prevent the the wobbling and possibly allow it to

go just a bit faster.

I investigated the world by researching different roller coasters from different amusement

parks that would allow my team mates and I to create a simple structure of our own roller

coaster. This experience supported our vision because with investigating the world are we able to

get ideas in which will help us for the better in constructing a roller coaster as well am I able to

expand my horizon and learn much more things required to complete the project compared to not

have doing research which would may have resulted to me not learning as much. I

communicated ideas in different ways such as asking my partners their ideas and how we could

put all of our ideas into the roller coaster as well meeting up to work on it physically. Another

way I communicated ideas was by asking others groups how they did their roller coaster and

seeing what worked and what did not work for them in creating the roller coaster.