Roller Coasters Research Paper

In the United States alone, there are over 400 amusement parks and attractions. There are a variety of different rides from roller coasters to free falls to carousels. Each year over 270 million people attend an amusement park, but many of them do not focus on the physics behind the rides they go on. Engineers are the ons who have to take physics into account in order to ensure the safety of the riders. On Carousels, engineers need to consider the centripetal force endured by the ride. For roller coasters, there is no engine involved so kinetic and potential energy is used to keep the coaster moving. Lastly, free fall rides have to do mainly with gravity as well as forces applied to the cart. Theme park rides would never exist without

Some roller coasters are fast while others are slow. There are wooden roller coasters and steel ones. Roller coasters with loops and others without. To create these different types of roller coasters, engineers need to think of kinetic and potential energy. Since roller coasters do not have an engine, engineers need to configure a way to keep the coaster running throughout the track. Typically, roller coasters start with hill where the coaster is being pulled. Once the coaster is at the top of the hill, the coaster is on its own. Kinetic and Potential energy drive the car. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Potential energy is stored energy. Therefore, as the coaster moves up the hill potential energy increases up the hill, it is being stored, and then transfers to kinetic energy, by releasing it, when the coaster goes down the hill. As the coaster moves up the hill you feel heavier due to inertia that wants you to stay behind. More gravity is exerted on you as well. When you move down the hill you feel weightless because you are falling with the car and experience 0 g-forces. Engineers have to be very meticulous in their work because they need to ensure that there is enough energy to push the coaster all the way to the end of the