Roller Coasters

What's full of physics and fun? Roller coasters!

Take a look at what we've been up to this week. First, students explored websites with information and videos related to roller coasters:

• Roller Coasters Physics, KET
• How Roller Coasters Work, How Stuff Works
• Newton's Apple - The Physics of Roller Coasters

Then they began to build and test their own roller coasters in simulated online experiments:

• Design a Roller Coaster, Annenberg Learner
• Coaster Creator, JASON Digital Lab

My students were having so much fun! They didn't even realize that they were using the design process, and they began using the terms kinetic energy and potential energy to describe what they were doing.

Today was the big day: students built their own roller coasters using two meters of plastic tubing. 

The roller coaster was a tiny BB.

Using tape, books, desks, chairs, and whatever else they could find, the students experimented with hills and loops to create the most effective and exciting roller coasters possible.

Do you want to bring the excitement of an amusement park to your classroom? Try roller coasters!

Enjoy!

Brenda