Roller Coasters: What Makes Them
Work?
You have just become engineers at the world’s newest
amusement park. The owners of the amusement park have
assigned a number of different groups to design the world’s
best roller coaster. The best design will win the contract. Your
team needs to show the chief engineer a model of this roller
coaster within the hour!
The object of your roller coaster is to have the model car
(marble, ball, etc.) travel the whole length of the track without
any human intervention. (You cannot push it, blow on it, etc.)
Your team will draw and label your design, discuss the
materials used and test your design. In your write-up, reflect on
how well your design worked and what improvements or
changes you made. Your team will present your design at the
end of the class.
Roller Coasters: What Makes Them Work?
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Roller Coasters: What Makes Them Work?
Suggested Grade Span
6–8
Task
You have just become engineers at the world’s newest amusement park. The owners of the
amusement park have assigned a number of different groups to design the world’s best roller
coaster. The best design will win the contract. Your team needs to show the chief engineer a
model of this roller coaster within the hour!
The object of your roller coaster is to have the model car (marble, ball, etc.) travel the whole
length of the track without any human intervention. (You cannot push it, blow on it, etc.) Your
team will draw and label your design, discuss the materials used and test your design. In your
write-up, reflect on how well your design worked and what improvements or changes you made.
Your team will present your design at the end of the class.
Big Ideas and Unifying Concepts
Cause and effect
Design
Models
Physical Science Concept
Motion and forces
Design Technology Concepts
Design constraints and advantages
Invention
Mathematics Concepts
Data collection, organization and analysis
Diagrams
Graphs, tables and representations
Measurement
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Time Required for the Task
Approximately one 75-minute session (or two 45-minute sessions to allow for group
presentations and clean up).
Context
This investigation is an introductory activity for our unit on forces and motion. Students have not
yet been introduced formally to the concepts of forces and motion, although they may have had
some exposure in earlier grades. We use this investigation as a starting point to understand
later activities that will teach specifically about inertia, gravity and friction. In previous units, we
have done a number of design technology challenges, so students are familiar with the design
process and building models to test designs.
What the Task Accomplishes
This task allows the teacher to do a preassessment of students’ prior knowledge related to
design and forces and motion. Even though students may not yet have acquired the appropriate
vocabulary, the design should reflect conceptual understanding of motion, inertia, gravity and
friction. The solution should also reflect their understanding and application of the investigation
and design process. The more opportunities that students have to design and test models, the
more comfortable they’ll feel using each step in the process, including labeling and drawing a
detailed picture, testing and recording results accurately, reflecting thoughtfully on their data
collection and design, and drawing knowledgeable conclusions. The communication piece has
students present both conceptual and process learning.
How Students Will Investigate
Student worksheets guide this design activity. Each group decides which materials to use, what
will serve as the model for their car, and what supports (chairs, etc.) they might need.
Construction materials are kept in one central location in the room, along with a scraps
container for clean up. Scissors and tape are also available to each group.
To begin the design process, groups brainstorm some possible ideas, select one to build, and
test and retest as parts are added and modified. This process will take most of the class time as
adjustments are made over and over again. Once the design is successful, students move on to
drawing some conclusions about their designs and include an explanation about the changes
they’ve made to it. Finally, the groups present their designs to the class.
Interdisciplinary Links and Extensions
Science
Students may decide, once their design is successful, that they want to increase the distance,
speed, number of loops and hills, etc., and thus make additional changes to the original design.
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If time permits, it is important to allow them to investigate these ideas and extend their thinking.
This activity should raise more complex questions about motion, which is why I use it as a basis
for introducing underlying concepts (gravity, inertia, etc.) for the later activities.
Language Arts/Social Studies
Students may be interested in conducting research on famous roller coasters and amusement
parks throughout history. This could include creating timelines, building working models, and
writing reports and creative stories.
Mathematics
There are many math concepts integrated with this overall unit on forces and motion. Later
activities and extensions specify taking measurements, including distance and time, so that
students use measurement tools frequently throughout the unit. Students can compute and
graph average distances for several trials, or for class trials. At this age, students can also be
introduced to calculating the rate of speed (distance = rate x time).
Teaching Tips and Guiding Questions
The students’ designs will be very diverse, so it is important to have a variety of materials on
hand as well as an open space to use when testing designs. It is also important to encourage
students to be creative and imaginative and to continually move from group to group asking
them about the concepts they are using. If a design is not successful, encourage students to try
new ideas or materials.
Students can sometimes get caught up in the fun (and chaos) of testing designs, therefore it is
important to remind them to draw sketches of their designs as they work. One person from each
group could be assigned the task of recording the sketch of the design for others to copy on a
later day. For groups to work effectively, it is important that all ideas are heard and that all
members are actively involved. My students are encouraged to use “I statements” with their
team members if they feel that not everyone is being heard or included. At the end of each
group task, we also process how well we worked together and set goals for next time.
Some possible guiding questions:
• What are some possible materials you can use? What materials will work best for your
particular design? Why did you select that particular material?
• What materials could you use for making a tunnel? a turn? a hill? What do you see in the
room around you that might help?
• Why do you think your “car” jumped the track? If it is moving too slowly/too quickly, what
can you do to change its speed? What changes might you make to your design?
• Does a different size “car” work better? Why do you think so?
• Why do you think it didn’t get to the end of the track? What forces might be at work here?
What do you think will happen if you change that?
• Why do you think your design was successful? What did you do to make it successful?
• What did you learn during this task? What surprised you?
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Concepts to be Assessed
(Unifying concepts/big ideas and science concepts to be assessed using the Science
Exemplars Rubric under the criterion: Science Concepts and Related Content)
Design Technology Invention – Constraints and Advantages: Students see that several
steps are involved in making things and that some materials are better than others, depending
on the intended purposes and characteristics of the materials.
Physical Science – Motion and Forces: Students demonstrate conceptual understanding of
inertia, friction, and gravity (three forces influencing an object’s speed and distance) in building
their designs.
Scientific Method: Students observe and explain reactions when variables are controlled.
Students are able to describe cause-effect relationships with some justification, using data and
prior knowledge (cause and effect). Students see that how a model works after changes are
made to it may suggest how the real thing would work if the same thing were done to it and that
choosing a useful model (not too simple, not too complex) to explore concepts encourages
insightful and creative thinking in science, mathematics and engineering (models).
Mathematics: Students use diagrams and precise measurements. Students collect, organize
and analyze data and use graphs, tables and representations appropriately.
Skills to be Developed
(Science process skills to be assessed using the Science Exemplars Rubric under the criteria:
Scientific Procedures and Reasoning Strategies, and Scientific Communication Using Data)
Scientific Method: Planning and testing a design, predicting, observing, collecting and
recording data, using data to draw conclusions, challenging misconceptions, raising new
questions and communicating.
Other Science Standards and Concepts Addressed
Scientific Method: Students predict, observe, describe, investigate and explain phenomena.
Students collect data and analyze the data to draw conclusions.
Scientific Theory: Students look for evidence that explains why things happen and modify
explanations/designs when new observations are made.
Design Technology: Students explain that invention requires a series of steps and, depending
on the task, careful choice of materials.
Physical Science – Forces and Motion: Students apply forces to objects and observe the
objects in motion. Students understand that three forces – inertia, gravity and function –
influence an object in motion.
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Suggested Materials
About a week before I begin this unit, I start collecting things like box board (flattened cereal
boxes, etc.), paper towel and toilet paper rolls, cardboard, paper cups and foil. I provide balls
(of different sizes and made of different materials), marbles, rubber bands, paper clips, masking
tape, scissors, etc. Classroom objects, such as books, chairs and tables, are all used to gain
height (the key to using gravity). Students may also bring in recycled and other materials from
home to use. Upon completion of the activity, we save all usable material for the next activity.
Refer to the worksheet on page 8.
Possible Solutions
There is more than one correct design, but certain designs will work better than others.
Students should use creativity and imagination in their designs. Groups will know they have
solved this challenge if their model design has at least one hill and one turn and the “car” goes
all the way to the end without intervention.
All parts of the worksheet must be completed, including the materials used and the design
tested. Drawings and data must be clearly labeled and recorded as evidence of testing the
design. Conclusions, explanations and improvements to the design should be clearly stated.
Task-Specific Assessment Notes
Novice
The student does not complete all parts of the recording, but the task is completed. There is no
diagram of the design, although it appears that the student did modify his/her design.
Explanations do not show how improvements may have influenced its success – evidence that
the student does not understand how to apply the design process. The conclusions stated are
too vague to assess the student’s understanding of the underlying scientific concepts.
Apprentice
The student’s solution is lacking in detail, although the task is completed. The drawing is only
partially labeled. The work shows a basic understanding of the design process, but the
explanation of improvements to the design does not show evidence of a cause-effect
relationship or of reasoning using scientific or design concepts.
Practitioner
The student’s solution and recordings are complete. The drawing is clearly labeled and
detailed, including materials used and the location of hills and turns. There is evidence of a
strategy used, and the design is successful. The student correctly identifies a relationship
between height and speed (using the force of gravity) and shows evidence of design process.
Expert
The student’s solution is complete and detailed. S/he draws a well-labeled diagram of the
design. This write-up (although sloppy) reflects good conceptual understanding, noting some
Roller Coasters: What Makes Them Work?
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cause-effect relationships. There is evidence of use of the design process because the design
was modified (and documented) several times in order to meet specifications. There is some
evidence of extended thinking in that a new modification is proposed. The conclusions show
his/her conceptual understanding of cause-effect relationships.
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Roller Coasters: What Makes Them Work?
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Novice
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Novice
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Practitioner
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Practitioner
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Expert
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Expert
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