Motion, Forces and Energy - Project Blog (2/11-2/15)

This is a picture of our rollercoaster design

Summary

As well as energy transformations, there are a lot of forces acting on a rollercoaster, which affect the motion, speed, and direction of the marble. Gravity and friction also play major roles in the movement of the marble. Gravity is what makes the marble drop at a specific speed. At the top of the roller coaster, the force of gravity continues to pull the marble down. Friction slows down the marble. As the marble travels through the roller coaster, friction is the opposing force that slows down the marble. The marble has less energy at the end of the roller coaster because some of the energy that it started with may have been transferred to other energy forms.

Loops, turns, and hills play a major role in the movement of the marble in the rollercoaster. Thus, the order in which they are placed does affect the outcome. The loop needs the most acceleration and speed to be able to work, and that is most at the beginning with the big drop. As a marble passes through a loop, the potential energy, and speed decrease as the marble goes up the loop. However, as it goes down, the kinetic energy increases, causing the potential energy to decrease due to the change in gravity. As the marble goes over a hill, the kinetic energy of the marble will decrease. This means that the change in gravity causes the potential energy to increase. However, as the marble goes down the hill, the kinetic energy increases, causing the potential energy to decrease. As the marble goes through a turn, the speed and kinetic energy will decreases because it is moving in a different direction. The potential energy stays the same because the height of the turn stays the same.


Backward-Looking

What process did you go through to produce this piece?

There were various factors of this project we had to complete for a final grade. To produce this piece, first, we learned about motion, forces, and energy and how they can affect the movement of an object. Next, we sketched out an idea for a roller coaster and started experimenting with loops, turns, and hills to find the best order for the final outcome. As we were working on our roller coaster, we learned more about the transformations behind it and documented them in our design brief. Once we were complete with our design brief and roller coaster, we communicated our findings with the class.


Inward-Looking

How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like? Dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece or work?

I feel that our group put a lot of time and effort into this piece of work and spent a lot of time creating the final design of our roller coaster. I liked that we had a lot of freedom during this project, and could use our creativity to design our roller coaster however we wanted, as long as it was within the criteria. I did not dislike anything about this project and enjoyed seeing our first sketch become a reality. Overall, this was a very fun and exciting project that helped us learn more about motion, forces, and energy during the process.


Outward-Looking

Did you do your work the way other people did theirs? In what ways did you do it differently? In what ways was your work or process similar?

Overall, the process to build our roller coaster was similar to the way other groups decided to build theirs. However, we had a lot of freedom and creativity with this project, so the design and theme of each roller coaster were unique. I felt that the materials each group used were similar, and worked for a similar purpose, however, teams used different amounts of each material to make a large or small final roller coaster. Overall, I felt that the process was similar for most groups, however, the final design was different.


Forward-Looking

What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?

I felt that we worked hard on this project, and spent a lot of time and effort completing it to the best of our ability. If we had a chance to do this piece over again, there is not much I would change. However, I felt that we were rushing towards the end of the project, so if we could, we would manage our time better. This way, we would have more time for decorations and final touches to our project. Overall, there is not much I would change, however, I would manage our time better if we could.

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