Glory Road
Degrees of Banking
Focus object or destination in the Hall:
Glory Road, Degrees of Banking
Grade Level:
Grades 5 - 8
Lesson Objective: Students will understand the various degrees of banking
found in NASCAR and the impact of speed and centripetal
force.
National Science Education Standards:
Content Standard B: As a result of their activities in grades 5
– 8, all students should develop an understanding of:
properties and changes of properties in matter; motions and
forces; and transfer of energy.
NCSCOS Objectives:
Science, Grade 5, Competency Goal 4:
The learner will conduct investigations and use appropriate
technologies to build an understanding of forces and motion
in technological designs.
Objective 4.02: Evaluate how pushing or pulling forces can
change the position and motion of an object.
Science, Grade 7, Competency Goal 6:
The learner will conduct investigations, use models,
simulations, and appropriate technologies and information
systems to build an understanding of motion and forces.
Objective 6.03: Evaluate motion in terms of Newton’s Laws:
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction; the
greater the force, the greater the change in motion.
Vocabulary:
degrees of banking, centripetal force, speed, restrictor plate
Materials/Supplies:
materials to build ramps that are at 14 degrees and 33
degrees
Pre-Visit Activity
This activity begins with discussion. Ask students to think about riding a bicycle.
Describe this scenario and ask them how they might feel riding the bike:
You are riding your bicycle on a street that is flat. You are going “pretty
fast” and you come to a steep hill. You are going downhill and decide not
to use the brakes. What happens to your speed? What happens to your
speed if the hill also has a big curve on the right side? Do you put on the
brakes or you keep your same speed? What happens in each of these
scenarios?
Ask students to think about a time when riding in a car and the driver exits on a
ramp that has a sharp curve. What does the driver do (hopefully slow down)?
Have any students ever been in the mountains and experienced the descent on
a steep curve? Again, what happens? How does it feel?
Use a board that is set at a 14 degree angle and ask students to walk up and
down the ramp. Is it easy, difficult and how does it feel? Next, set the board at
a 33 degree angle and repeat. Next, set a ramp at 0 degrees. Is it easy, difficult
and how does it feel? Can someone walk fast across a ramp at 0 degrees? How
about the ramp when it is at 14 degrees or 33 degrees? Is it easier to walk fast
at 0 degrees or 33 degrees?
These experiences introduce the idea of the various degrees of banking found in
NASCAR. The degrees of banking found at NASCAR tracks vary from 0 degrees
to 33 degrees. Ask students to discuss why there is such a wide range of
banking degrees. List their reasons on the board. Hopefully, speed and
centripetal force will be on the list. If not, lead a discussion about these
variables and their impact on a car racing on a bank of 33 degrees.
Visit to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Assign 4 students to try the alternate banking experience found just before the
entrance to Food Lion Race Week (3rd floor). Tell the students to make notes
about the experience to share when they return to the classroom.
Divide the rest of the class into two groups: one to experience standing at the
14 degree landing and one to experience standing at the 33 degree landing.
Again, these students should make notes about the experience to share when
they return to the classroom.
Ask all students to notice that the degrees of banking on Glory Road range from
0 to 36.
Post-Visit Activity
Ask students to share their findings in regard to the 14 degree, 33 degree, and
alternative banking experiences. Were they similar, different, etc.? Create a
chart or a Venn diagram using their findings.
Tell students that the Daytona International Speedway is 2.5 miles long and has
the second highest degree of banking in NASCAR, 31 degrees. Given that the
degree of banking is directly impacts the speed of a race car, Daytona’s banking
provides opportunity for racing at speeds close 180 mph. In 1960, Junior
Johnson recorded an average speed of 124.740 mph and won the Daytona 500.
In 1980, Buddy Baker average speed was 177.602 mph and he won the Daytona
500. How long did it take Junior Johnson and Buddy Baker to win the Dayton
500 with their respective average speeds? Tell the students that the Daytona
500 is 500 miles long.
Talladega Superspeedway has the highest degree of banking at 33 degrees with
track length of 2.66 miles. Because of an accident at Talladega, NASCAR
initiated the use of restrictor plates in 1988. A restrictor plate fits over the
carburetor, which limits the flow of air and lowers the horsepower and speed.