ENERGY and the ROLLER COASTER
Key Questions
 What happens to the
motion of a marble on a
hilly track?
 How is energy conserved
on a roller coaster?
Roller Coasters

Millennium Force at Cedar Point:
 300 ft drop
 80 degree angle of descent
 93 mph
 $25 million to build

Fastest coaster: Japan, 106.9 mph

Biggest wooden coaster drop: Paramount’s King
Island, 214 ft drop
Where does the marble move
the fastest?
1
5
2
4
3
6
7
At what two positions is the marble
moving the fastest?
What is unique about these two
positions?

How does the speed of marble 1
compare to the speed of marble 2?

How does the time it takes each
marble to reach this point compare?
Start
1
2
ENERGY
Is
WORK
the ability to do Force x Distance
work.
Unit – joules
Is stored work
Any object that has
Unit - joules
energy has the
ability to create a
force
Potential
 Energy
that is stored
of height –
relative to Earth's
surface.
 Energy
 Ep
= mgh
 m = mass (kg)
 g = gravity
(m/sec2)
 h = ht (meters)
TOP OF THE HILL
KINETIC
 Energy
A
of Motion
moving mass
forces
 Ek
exerts
= ½ mv2
 M = mass (kg)
 V = speed (m/sec)
Why drive so slow in a school zone?
Investigate the relationship between
speed and height more closely

Find the speed of the marble for each of
12 different positions on the coaster

Whn finished, please complete the speed
vs. position graph
Input vs. Output
 Work
Output is always less than Work
Input
 Where does it go?
 Friction – thermal energy
Efficiency
(%)
 A machine is 100% efficient
when input = output work.
 Wo / Wi x 100
The Work – Energy Theorem
 The
total amount of Work that can be
done is equal to the total amount of
Energy available.
 Objects
cannot do Work without Energy
 Energy
can be stored for later use
The Work – Energy Theorem
 Energy
can be
converted or
transformed
(from one form to
another)
 Anything
with energy
can produce a force
capable of action over a
distance
RADIANT
CHEMICAL
ELECTRICAL
NUCLEAR
COOL GRAPH!
THROWING A BALL
INTO THE AIR