Today we went to
the Arizona Science Center to learn about the amazing physics of
roller coasters. First we learned about the history of roller coasters, as well
as the newest inventions. In the early 1700’s there was an ice roller coaster in
Russia with a wooden sledge, but then a Frenchman enjoyed the idea of a
roller coaster, so he decided to bring it back to France. Over hundreds of
years, people have learned how to build interesting creations of
roller coasters; now we even have four hundred foot drops and multiple loops.
Another interesting fact I learned was how to solve an equation to figure out
the velocity of a roller coaster. The formula to calculate this equation is V=√R x Ag. V stands for velocity, R represents the radius of the
roller coaster loop, and Ag is an abbreviation of acceleration of gravity. This
formula did not make a plethora of sense to me because I have not learned how
to calculate some of the algebra. My favorite part of the class was watching a
video on the top ten highest drops in the United States. It shocked me to see
that a roller coaster could have a four hundred foot drop. Personally I would
enjoy riding steep roller coasters even though I might throw up at the end.
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