Marble Roller Coaster Kinetic Energy

A marble at the top of the track has potential energy.

Marble roller coaster kinetic energy.

The energy used to pull the coaster up is stored in the cars as potential energy. The bigger the drop in height the faster the roller coaster will go. You ll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape and see how much the marble s potential energy at the beginning of the track is converted to kinetic energy at various points along the track. After the cars have reached their highest point and they begin their rapid journey downwards the potential energy is converted back into kinetic energy.

Gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy. Build your own marble roller coaster in this project and find out. When the marble rolls down the track the potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy. Students explore our obsession with roller coasters since their introduction in the 17th century.

You should have been able to design a working roller. I often see students wistfully creating awesome looking features that don t work because they do not account for how much energy the marble has. When you raise the marble you are working against the force of gravity giving the marble potential energy. Demo a marble run.

Real roller coasters use a motor to pull cars up a hill at the beginning of the ride. Marbles have a limited amount of energy so encourage the students to plan their roller coaster according to how much energy the marble has. Background roller coasters rely on two types of energy to operate. This unit introduces potential energy and kinetic energy.

Avoid sharp corners or your roller coaster car your marble might crash and come to an abrupt stop. The marble picks up speed as it goes downhill. When an object like a marble or a roller coaster car is at the top of a high hill it has lots of potential energy that is energy that comes from its position. For example a coaster could go between three levels a desk a chair and the floor.

Abstract if you d like to investigate the physics of amusement park rides then this project is for you. Once the object starts moving that potential energy turns into kinetic energy. When the marble starts rolling down this potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. A roller coaster demonstrates kinetic energy and potential energy.

This energy comes from the force of gravity which can pull the object down to the ground. Why we love roller coasters. In an isolated system such as the roller coaster the total energy remains constant. Converting potential energy to kinetic energy have multiple groups work together to build a single larger roller coaster.

Kinetic energy friction.