Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Engineering Design Process Applied to
Thrill Ride! Designing a High Speed Roller Coaster
Goal: Design a section of a roller coaster that will provide
an exciting ride and be safe.
Problem: Design a roller coaster section that will allow a
coaster car (marble) to travel at a high speed without going
off the track.
Research: Investigate the role of kinetic and potential
energy in determining the speed that the roller coaster cars
can travel. Experiment to determine the effect of the
starting hill height and loop diameter on the performance of
the roller coaster.
Develop: Analyze the data and develop multiple designs for a roller coaster section that
contains hill heights and loop sizes that you think will enhance the performance of your coaster.
Choose: Choose and sketch a design that will allow your coaster car (marble) to move rapidly
and safely along the track.
Create: Construct a prototype roller coaster based on your design, using provided materials.
Test and Evaluate: Test your roller coaster and observe whether the marble stays on the track
throughout test. Record average speeds.
Redesign: Based on your results, redesign your roller coaster prototype to closely meet the
criteria and enhance the speed and performance of the coaster.
Communicate: Discuss your results as a team and develop a marketing plan.
Note: The Engineering Design Process (EDP) fits seamlessly with the 5-E model. For the
purpose of focusing teachers on engineering, the EDP headings are used in this lesson.
1
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Engineering Design Challenge
Project Title: Thrill Ride! Designing a High Speed Roller Coaster
Project Sources:
Note: You can view some of these sites in one place by going to http://bit.ly/WiXrnW. Look for the
articles beginning with Q4 Science. (Note that there are articles on a variety of STEM topics, and you will
need to look for the Q4 Science articles on several different pages.)





Amusement Park Physics: http://bit.ly/17N4Jry
Funderstanding: http://tinyurl.com/9nqtxh
How Roller Coasters Work: http://bit.ly/ZAZ73V
BrainPop CoasterDesign: http://www.brainpop.com/games/coastercreator/
Build a Roller Coaster: http://bit.ly/16ih8o3
Project Submitter: STEM Improvement Lesson Development Team
Grade Level/Subject: 8th Grade Science, 4th Quarter
Engineering Challenge: Design a roller coaster that will allow a coaster car (marble) to travel at a high
speed while safely traversing a 12-foot track with one loop.
Lesson Description: Teams of 3-4 students will apply the steps of the Engineering Design Process as they
design and construct a model roller coaster. Amusement parks seek to provide a high level of “thrill” in
their roller coaster rides and speed is the primary thrill factor for roller coaster enthusiasts. Team
members will begin by researching the relationship between the potential energy that fuels a roller
coaster and the kinetic energy that drives it and produces the speed. The challenge for student
engineering teams is to design a roller coaster prototype that reaches a high average speed and provides
a safe ride. Teams will then analyze and redesign their prototypes to increase the thrill factor.
Time Required: Three 45-minute class periods
2
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Engineering Content Standard: (4 EQT Questions)
2.4: Communicate the results of technical problem solving with an understanding of societal
issues.
Connection to NOW: Today students can access a great deal of information right from their own
home via the Internet.
MCPSS Science to support the engineering challenge:
10.0 Differentiate between potential and kinetic energy.
11.0 Explain the law of conservation of energy and its relationship to energy transformation,
including chemical to electrical, chemical to heat, electrical to light, electrical to mechanical and
electrical to sound.
MCPSS Mathematics to support the engineering challenge:
 Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph.
Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described
verbally.
STEM Learning Outcomes to support the engineering challenge:
 Use Web-based tools for collaboration, information, and organization.
 Use data presented in tables, graphs, or symbolic form. Be able to discuss the slope in terms of
the context of the investigation.
Materials Required:
For the teacher:






Engineering Design Process Poster
PowerPoint titled: Thrill Ride!
Computer with Internet connection and AV Equipment
Teacher background material titled Teacher Introduction
Tape (a strong tape, like Gorilla tape) to construct the track
10 6-foot pieces of 1” diameter foam insulation to construct the tracks (cut in half, lengthwise)
For each team of 3-4 students:
 12 feet of 1” diameter foam insulation track (See Teacher Prep)
 1 meter stick
 1 marble
 1 roll of masking tape
3
Thrill Ride!









Grade 8 Science Q 4
Colored pencils
1, 5-oz. paper cup
1 timer or stopwatch
1 calculator
12 index cards (3” x 5”)
2 sheets of plain paper
1 metric ruler
Safety goggles (one for each student)
A computer with internet connection; 1 for each pair or team of students (optional)
Teacher Preparation: Prior to Starting the Module
 Prepare the coaster tracks. Cut a 6 foot piece of 1-inch foam pipe insulation in half, lengthwise,
and tape the two pieces together to form a 12 foot track. Use a strong tape, like Gorilla tape or
duct tape. The inside of the track at the taped section needs to be as smooth as possible.
Teacher Preparation: Day 1

Prior to the day you teach this lesson place students in teams of 3 or 4. On the day of the lesson
they should know where to go and be ready to begin as soon as class starts.

Study The Day 1 lesson and adapt the pace so that students can finish exploring the materials they
will use to construct their roller coasters by the end of the period.

Read the teacher introduction from Teacher Introduction to Roller Coaster Design sheet.

Make copies of these student handouts.

For half of your teams make copies of SH: 1, Starting Height Research Data Sheet.

For the other half of your teams make copies of SH: 2, Loop Diameter Research Data Sheet.

For all teams make a copy of SH: 3, Proposed Design handout.

Arrange to have a computer with an Internet connection for each team (or pair of students). If
computers are not available prepare to use the Coaster Creation activity with the whole class
using the Smart Board.

Place an index card for each team member in each team area.

Prepare to give each team one 12-foot foam insulation track, a paper cup, and a marble.

Decide where you will have students put their materials and handouts at the end of each class.
4
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Teacher Preparation: Day 2
 Read the lesson carefully. Prepare to pace the lesson according to the time you have available so
that students complete their hands-on research and select a design for the roller coaster they will
construct on Day 3.
 Be familiar with SH: 1, Starting Height Research Data and SH: 2, Loop Diameter Research Data
handouts. Understand how to help the students gather their data and arrive at conclusions.
 Prepare a box or bag of materials for each team containing a marble, a roll of masking tape, a 5 oz.
paper cup, a timer or stopwatch, a calculator, a metric ruler, and colored pencils.
 Put a box/bag of materials, goggles and 2-3 sheets plain paper at each team location.
 Place an index card for each team member in each team area.
 Have the foam insulation track and meter sticks ready to distribute to each team.
Teacher Preparation: Day 3
 Study the lesson and pace it so that students will complete the project today.
 Provide a 12-foot foam insulation track and meter stick for each team.
 Have available the box/bag of materials for each team from the previous lesson.
 Place plain paper in each team area.

Prepare a Class Coaster Chart that resembles the one shown here, and place it where teams can
record their results. If you have fewer than 10 teams, put the actual number of teams in your
largest class.
Team
Average speed of
coaster (cm./sec.)
1
2
3
4
5
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Prerequisite knowledge:
Before Day 1:
Review these concepts with students:
 Potential and kinetic energy
 Force
 Gravity
 Friction
Students should know how to calculate the average speed of an object: rate = distance/time.
Before Day 2:
Students should know how to set up and draw an accurate line graph of their data, including where to
graph the independent and the dependent variables.
6
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Thrill Ride! Designing a High Speed Roller Coaster
Grade 8 Science, Quarter 4
DAY 1
Engineering Connection: Mechanical and civil engineers cooperatively work to develop, design,
and construct roller coasters. They use their knowledge of various forces (gravity and friction)
and forms of energy (gravitational, potential and kinetic) to create a functioning, thrilling, and
safe roller coaster ride.
DEFINE THE PROBLEM (10 min.)

Use a Bell Ringer: Before class begins display Slide # 2 with the Bell
Ringer. As students arrive direct them to their teams. Call attention
to the Bell Ringer and ask students to follow the instructions.
On an index card, list 3 things you know about successful roller
coasters.

When it’s time for class to begin, ask several volunteers to share their ideas about what
makes a roller coaster successful.

Engage students with a video: Show the first 2 minutes of this
video clip showing a fast roller coaster ride from Slide # 3.
<http://bit.ly/18HQ6qj> Following the video, ask students what
makes this roller coaster ride so thrilling for the riders. Lead
them to suggest that the speed at which the coaster cars are
traveling is one reason the ride is thrilling.

Call attention to the Engineering Design Process (EDP) poster.
Show Slide # 4 and explain that engineers use this problemsolving process as they design roller coasters that have many of
the features students just mentioned to make them successful.
This engineering design process is used by engineers to identify
and solve real world problems our society faces. Ask:
What real world problem would you need to focus on if you were building a fastmoving roller coaster? (Be sure that students include safety as one of their answers.)

Explain the challenge. Point to the center part of the EDP and tell students that they will be
working in engineering teams for the next three days on an engineering goal, or challenge.
7
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Ask them if they can guess what their challenge will be. (To design and construct a model
roller coaster track that will allow a model coaster car to speed along the track with a high
average speed and stay safe.)
Show Slide # 5, which states the engineering challenge.
Design and construct a roller coaster prototype that will allow a
marble to travel along the track at a high average speed and
stay safe.
Tell students that we want this to be the fastest, most exciting ride they can build. Show
Slide # 6. Ask:
What makes a roller coaster successful? (Thrill factor –
changes in acceleration, loops, downhill, free fall, G-force,
safety)
What do you think you need to know to design a thrilling
roller coaster ride?
Students may suggest that they need to know how roller coasters work and what kind of
energy they use. They should realize that they also need to review some things they’ve
learned about energy and energy transformation.
RESEARCH ENERGY TRANSFORMATION (30 min.)

Address the engineering content standard for this lesson. Point out that engineers design
technologies to solve practical problems. If needed, remind students that a technology is
something designed by humans to meet a human need or want. In this case, the
technology will be the roller coaster.
To find out more about how to solve problems engineers must do research. Sometimes
they use previously created technologies to help with their research. For example, they
might use computers to access the Internet to learn more about the problem, or more
about the science and math needed to solve the problem. Through technologies like email
and texting they are able to collaborate with people around the world. Software might be
8
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
used for simulations, or to design and test their ideas. The use of information technologies
is one way for engineers to access and store information, analyze and interpret data, and
create and test designs in ways that were not possible in the past.
After creating their design, engineers can use technology to communicate their work and
understandings to others.

Reference the Law of Conservation of Energy. Explain that before beginning their designs,
students will need to do some research (refer to the Engineering Design Process poster) to
find out more about how roller coasters work. First, they need to review what they know
about energy. Ask students what the Law of Conservation of Energy states. (Energy can
neither be created nor destroyed.) Say: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can
be transformed, changed to another form. Let’s see how energy that repeatedly changes
from one form to another and back again can help a roller coaster operate.

Use interactive animation to give students information about potential and kinetic
energy. Tell students that we can explain how roller coasters work by looking at two types
of energy – potential energy and kinetic energy. Typically the roller coaster car is pulled up
a hill by a motor or mechanical device. This mechanical energy is converted to potential
energy, energy that is stored in the car because of its position in a gravitational field. Once
the coaster car is at the peak point, no motors are connected to it in any way. Instead, the
force of gravity pulls the car down the opposite side of the hill. The car begins its steep,
looping descent along a track designed to safely change its potential energy into kinetic
energy (the energy of motion) and make it a thrilling ride. Say:
Let’s see how that works.
Show Slide # 7. Tell students that as they watch the simulation
they need to look at what happens to the potential and kinetic
energy. Click “Play” to begin the animation, “How Roller Coasters
Work,” from <http://tinyurl.com/3vyx2y9>. As the roller coaster
rolls across the track it stops at certain points. At each stop, point
out what is happening with the kinetic and potential energy (shown in the indicator above
the track). This should not take more than about 5 minutes.

Summarize some principles of energy transfer. When you complete the interactive
animation, tell students that they will need to apply knowledge of potential and kinetic
energy to create their own coaster.
9
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Display Slides # 8 - 9. Go over the information with students.

Monitor as students play the Coaster Creator game. This game engages students in
applying their understanding about energy transfer (potential to kinetic). This website has
audio, so students may need to turn down the volume and read the instructions on the
screen.
Before allowing students to begin the simulation, explain that once they start their coaster
rides there will be some information displayed above the coaster track. They need to pay
careful attention to the bar that indicates the transformation of the coaster’s energy
between potential and kinetic energy. The formulas for calculating potential and kinetic
energy will also be displayed. Students should make note of what changes and what stays
the same in the two formulas as the coaster car moves along the track. These two formulas
will be used later in this challenge. Students should record their observations on a piece of
paper.
Show Slide # 10 and ask teams to open their computers to the
BrainPop Coaster Creator site. If the computers are not already at
the site, tell them to type in the URL shown on the slide. When
they have the home page up, tell teams to start by clicking on the
button titled “Build a Roller Coaster Right Now!” (If all teams do
not have access to a computer, show this on the white board and
ask one team at a time to try to create a successful coaster while the other teams cheer
them on.)
Monitor as students create and test their coasters. Encourage them to use “failed”
attempts as an opportunity to learn about the importance of balancing the amounts of
potential, kinetic energy, and dissipated energy in the system. Ask questions about what
the students are observing in the formulas and energy indicators above the track. Make
sure they are recording their observations.
About 12 minutes before the end of class, ask students to close the website. Take about 2
minutes to allow students to share their notes. Make sure they noticed the following while
the coaster was moving:
10
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4

In the formula:
o The mass stayed the same throughout each test on both sides of the equation.
o Except for the initial hill, as the height of the car increases the velocity decreases.
o As the height of the car decreases the velocity increases.

In the indicator bar:
o As the car went up the initial hill the potential energy increased (Mechanical
energy was used to pull the car up the track and was being converted to
potential energy.).
o As the car went downhill, the potential energy decreased and the kinetic
energy increased.
o The total amount of energy stayed the same.
Note: This is a fun site for students, so you may consider asking those with Internet access
at home to learn how to craft a super coaster.

Give teams an opportunity to research and experiment with the materials they will use.
Allow students to examine the materials they will use to build their roller coasters in the
next lesson.
Give each team a piece of tubing and a marble. Ask them to experiment with the height
from which they need to drop the marble and various sizes of loops and hills they will need
to construct. Explain that to be successful the marble must travel along the track until it
drops safely into the paper cup placed at the end of the track.
Explain that for the next lesson they will have more materials, such as tape, to help them
stabilize their track and coasters.
WRAP UP (5 min.)


Clean up materials. Direct students to put away their
materials in the location you designate.
Wrap-up. Display Slide # 11 and have students follow the
directions on the slide.
On a 3” x 5” index card, list at least 2 things you learned today about roller coasters.
Collect these cards as students leave and use them to assess students’ understanding of
the content in today’s lesson.
11
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
DAY 2
REVIEW ENERGY PRINCIPLES AND THE EDP (5 min.)

Use a Bell Ringer. Show Slide # 13 as students arrive. Before class
starts, ask them to get an index card and respond to the prompt on
the slide.
On an index card list 2 things you learned from your research that will be helpful in
building your roller coaster.

Review some design principles students learned in Day 1. When it’s time to begin class,
ask three or four students to share what they wrote with the class. Then ask them to
respond to these questions:
1. What is energy that is stored called? (Potential Energy)
2. What is energy that is being used, or energy in motion, called? (Kinetic Energy)
3. What do potential and kinetic energy have to do with roller coasters? (The
potential energy at the high point from which the coaster starts is transformed to
kinetic energy as the coaster starts moving downhill.)
4. What is the relationship between the height of the starting hill and velocity of
your coaster? (The taller the hill the faster the coaster car will go. The height –
potential energy – of the first hill determines how much kinetic energy is
available for the system.)
5. What did you learn about the height of the hill in relation to the loop? (Students
may have learned that if they make the first hill too tall and put too much energy
in the system, their car can go flying off the track. If the first hill is too low the car
doesn’t have enough kinetic energy to complete the loop.)

Discuss the engineering design process. Show Slide # 14 and
remind students that they did the Research stage on Day 1. Help
them realize that research involves more than books and paper.
Ask them how they conducted research on Day 1. (They used the
“How a Roller Coaster Works” animation, the “Coaster Creator”
game, and explored ways to could use the foam insulation to design
a coaster.)
Again indicate the Engineering Design Process diagram and explain that students will
continue with their research and move on the next steps as they build and test roller
12
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
coasters. They will collect data from the roller coasters and use what they learn to make
their final roller coaster designs. They will start by developing multiple ideas for a roller
coaster design and choosing one of those plans to build and test.
DEVELOP and PLAN (5 min.)

Display criteria. Tell students that when they construct
their final roller coaster it must meet these criteria. Go to
Slide # 15 to display and explain the criteria.

Explain what teams will do today. Today each team will conduct a test on one variable
for building their roller coaster. Half of the teams will test the effect of the height of the
starting hill on the speed of the roller coaster (marble). The other half will test whether
the size of the loop’s diameter affects the speed of the roller coaster. They will share
information at the end of class to determine how each of those variables is related to
speed and safety. They will use the information to help them decide on a final design for
their coaster so that it will be successful.

Guide students to plan and construct their roller coasters. Assign half of the teams to
test the relationship between various starting heights and the speed of the coaster;
assign the other half to test the relationship between the diameter of the loop and the
coaster speed.

Give the SH: 1, Starting Height Research Data handout to the teams that will test the
starting height. Tell them to plan 6 different heights they will use. Give them these
instructions:
o Take the 366 cm section of insulation and put the track in place – no loops.
o Measure the first height on the track from which you will drop the marble. Clock
the time it takes for the marble to travel the track and drop into the cup. If it goes
off the track then do not count that test. Change the height and try again.
o Follow the same procedure for all six heights you chose. When you get through,
you should have conducted 6 successful tests with 6 different heights. Use the data
to construct a scatterplot graph at the bottom of the handout.

Give the SH: 2, Loop Diameter Research Data handout to the remaining teams and ask
them to decide on 6 different diameters for their loops. Give them these instructions:
13
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
o Take the 366 cm section of insulation and put the track in place.
o Decide on a starting height to drop the marble from and keep the height constant
for every test.
o Construct the loop 60 cm out from the bottom of the hill where you drop your
marble. Clock the time it takes for the marble to travel the track and drop in the
cup. If the marble goes off the track then do not count that test. Change the
diameter and try again.
o Follow the same procedure for all six diameters you chose. When you get through,
you should have conducted 6 successful tests with 6 different loop diameters. Use
the data to construct a scatterplot graph at the bottom of the handout.
TEST AND RECORD DATA TO DETERMINE A SUCCESSFUL ROLLER COASTER DESIGN (20 min.)

Involve teams in gathering data for their roller coaster design. Ask each team to get a
section of foam insulation. The other materials needed to construct the coaster (masking
tape, meter sticks, etc.) are in the team areas.
Instruct all teams to construct a roller coaster to test the assigned variable. Remind teams
to record only successful trials. If the ball falls off before the end of the track, the test
should not be included in the data.

If teams need help in recalling how to calculate the average speed, remind them that the
formula for speed (speed = distance/time) is on their handout. Their track is 366 cm long,
and they can measure the time it takes the marble to complete the track with the timer. To
calculate the number of cm per second they will need to divide 366 by the number of
seconds.
Monitor as teams complete this activity, making sure that they are completing the table and
the graph.
Lead teams to analyze the results. Lead teams to examine their data. After graphing the
results, teams will determine if there seems to be a relationship between (1) the speed of
the marble and the starting height and (2) the speed of the marble and the diameter of the
loop. They should try to figure out if there is a pattern. If so, what is the pattern? (An
example would be: as the height or the diameter of the track increased, or decreased, the
speed would increase, or decrease.)
14
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
GUIDE TEAMS TO REPORT THEIR RESULTS (10 min.)

Ask teams to report their results. Teams should briefly report any correlations they see
with regard to starting height and speed, and with regard to loop diameter and speed. For
example, is there any pattern? If so, what is the pattern? Is it consistent that if the height
increases, the average speed also increases?
Teams reporting on the relationship between height and speed might decide that the
higher the hill, the faster the marble will travel. However, with a very high hill, the marble
might travel so fast that it would not stay on the track. They should report the height of
their most successful test – the test in which the marble stayed on track and traveled the
fastest. Write each team’s most successful test data on the board.
Teams reporting on loop diameter might report how the diameter of the loop affected the
speed of the marble’s trip down the track. For example, is there any pattern? Is it
consistent that if the diameter increases, the average speed also increases? Which size
loops work better – larger ones or smaller ones? Ask each team to report the diameter of
their most successful loop – the test in which the marble stayed on track and traveled the
fastest. Write each team’s most successful test data on the board.
Remind students that sometimes the relationship between two sets of data is linear. In
other words, the graph of the data would result in a straight line. That means as one set of
numbers increases or decreases, the other set increases or decreases at the same rate.
Explain that because students did not have the tools to make precise measurements their
graphs may not be completely accurate. However, if they can draw a straight line through
the points and most of the points fit close to the line, the relationship might be linear.
Give students a chance to check their graphs and allow some groups to share whether they
think there is or is not a linear relationship between:
a) The starting height and the average speed.
b) The loop diameter and the average speed.
They should be able to justify their answers.
Note: In reality the height data may be a straight line. However, we don’t have the kinds of
equipment that would give the exact measurement. The data under students’ testing conditions
would more likely be a scatter plot. If, after teams graph the data, it looks like they could draw
a straight line through the middle and most of the points would fit close to the line, the
relationship may be linear.
15
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
Monitor as teams to decide on a roller coaster design plan and sketch it. Distribute SH: 3.
Proposed Design. Tell students to complete the handout as a team, and use the
information to decide on a roller coaster design based on their research. The design should
include a hill at the end of the track. Students should sketch the plan at the of their student
handout. Remind them to label the measurements, including the height of the first hill, the
diameter of the loop, the distance from the top of the hill to the loop and the height of the
last hill. Suggest that teams may add more loops or hills to increase the velocity of their
roller coasters if they wish.
WRAP UP (5 min.)

Clean up materials. Direct students to put away their materials in the location you
designate. Be sure that they have the graph and rough sketch for Day 3.
16
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
DAY 3
PREPARE THE TEAMS FOR CONSTRUCTING THEIR COASTERS (5 min.)

Bell Ringer – Show Slide # 17 as students arrive. Be sure that
each team has the graphs and sketches from the previous
lesson.
Look at the graph and roller coaster plan your team
sketched on Day 2. Be ready to share any changes you
might recommend.

Connect teams’ work to the Engineering Design Process. Show
Slide # 18 and explain that they are ready to create their
prototypes and test them. Point out that when they discussed
information and made decisions within their team they were
communicating. Explain that after students create and test
their roller coaster designs they will need to think about
another aspect of communication.

Display Slide # 19 and point out that after designing
technologies to solve problems, engineers must communicate
their results. Ask:
What technical problem are you solving? (How to build a safe
but thrilling roller coaster ride)
Tell students to think about how they might be able to share information about their
designs with other people. Give them a minute to think about this, and then allow a
couple of students to share their responses. Lead them to understand that sharing
results can include more than just written and oral communication. Encourage
responses like graphs, charts, pictures, simulations and power point slides as just a few
examples of how engineers might communicate or share information about their
technologies.

Engineers may use information technologies and communication devices like
computers, the Internet, design software, etc. to communicate about their designs.
These technologies were designed to help us receive and share information rapidly and
from remote areas.
17
Thrill Ride!

Grade 8 Science Q 4
Tell students that after they finish their designs they will need to plan how they
communicate the final plan to others.
MONITOR TEAMS AS THEY CONSTRUCT THEIR ROLLER COASTERS (20 min.)

Display criteria and constraints. Go to Slide # 20 and again
display the criteria for their roller coasters.
Flip to Slide # 21 and go over the constraints with teams. Ask if
students have any questions.

Show the Instructions from Slide # 22. Be sure students
understand the instructions. Leave this slide up as students
construct the roller coasters.
Distribute materials and monitor teams as they set up their track and
test their plan. Tell students to create, then test, a prototype coaster
based on their design plan. If their original design doesn’t work, instruct
teams to adjust the plan and test the roller coaster again until they have
a successful design.
When a team is satisfied that they have a workable design, they should
conduct 3 tests on that design and record the average speed for each
test. They will then calculate the mean average speed. (Add the results
from each of the 3 tests and divide by 3.)
One team member should write the team’s mean average
speed on the Class Coaster Chart. Each team should sketch a
picture of their successful coaster on a piece of plain paper. If
time allows suggest that teams add more loops or hills to see
if they can increase the velocity of their roller coasters.
18
Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Average speed of
coaster (in./sec.)
Thrill Ride!
Grade 8 Science Q 4
EVALUATE (10 min.)

Analyze the roller coasters and the speeds. Which roller coasters were faster? Were they
also safe? If time permits, have students demonstrate their roller coaster designs to the
class and ask students to decide why some might have been faster than others.

Engage students in a conversation about multiple solutions. Discuss how each team’s
roller coaster is different, and guide students to understand that there are multiple ways to
solve a problem. Explain that problem solving is what engineering is all about. Collect and
display sketches of the successful roller coasters.
COMMUNICATE (5 min.)

Allow teams to develop a marketing plan for their roller coaster. Use this to help them
focus on the Engineering Content Standard 2.4: Communicate the results of technical
problem solving with an understanding of societal issues. They might plan to post a picture
of this coaster online on a wiki or website. Or they might decide to make a brochure
describing their roller coaster and how well it operated. Make sure they list what will be
included in their communication (the data, a graph, a sketch, etc.)
WRAP UP (5 min.)

Congratulate students on a successful engineering challenge. Remind students that
what makes a roller coaster fun is the changes of speed due to the twists, turns and
forces acting upon it.

Clean up materials. Direct students to put away their materials in the location you
designate.
19