Name: Alicia Lord
Date: 8/26/20
Format all responses in blue bold font.
Student Exploration: Roller Coaster Physics
Vocabulary (refer to vocab file located on the Gizmo site for definitions): friction,
gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, momentum
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the
Gizmo.)
Sally gets onto the roller coaster car, a bit nervous already. Her
heart beats faster as the car slowly goes up the first long, steep
hill.
1. What happens at the beginning of every roller coaster ride?
At the beginning there’s always going up a ramp to
draw your excitement and get you a little scared too.
2. Does the roller coaster ever get higher than the first hill?
Explain. Yes, sometimes it does but not always.
Gizmo Warm-up: The Roller Coaster Physics Gizmo™
models a roller coaster with a toy car on a track that
leads to an egg. You can change the track or the car. For
the first experiment, use the default settings (Hill 1 = 70
cm, Hill 2 = 0 cm, Hill 3 = 0 cm, 35-g car).
1. Press Play ( ) to roll the 35-gram toy car
down the track. Does the car break the egg? It
touches the egg but did not break
2. Click Reset ( ). Set Hill 1 to 80 cm, and click Play. Does the car break the egg?
Yes.
3. Click Reset. Lower Hill 1 back to 70 cm and select the 50-gram toy car. Click Play.
Does the 50-gram car break the egg? Yes it did.
4. What factors seem to determine whether the car will break the egg? Mainly the 50
or higher G of car the more likely it will break the egg.
This study source was downloaded by 100000829818949 from CourseHero.com on 01-22-2022 01:36:57 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/67220895/Lord-Alicia-23-RollerCoasterSEpdf/
, Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Roller coaster • Click Reset.
speed • Select the 35-g toy car.
Question: What factors determine the speed of a roller coaster? Some factors
that can influence the roller coaster train speed: Temperature – The lower
the temperature the slower the train.
1. Observe: Set Hill 1 to 100 cm, Hill 2 to 0 cm, and Hill 3 to 0 cm. Be sure the
Coefficient of friction is set to 0.00. (This means that there is no friction, or
resistance to motion.)
A. Click Play. What is the final speed of the toy car? 442.9
B. Try the other cars. Does the mass of the car affect its final speed? No, they
are the same.
2. Collect data: Find the final speed of a toy car in each situation. Leave the last
column blank.
Total height
Hill 1 Hill 2 Hill 3 Final speed
lost
40 cm 0 cm 0 cm 280.1 40
40 cm 30 cm 0 cm 280.1 40
60 cm 50 cm 20 cm 280.1 40
60 cm 0 cm 0 cm 343.1 60
60 cm 45 cm 0 cm 343.1 60
90 cm 75 cm 30 cm 343.1 60
3. Analyze: Look at the data carefully. Notice that it is organized into two sets of three
trials.
A. What did each set of trials have in common? Each set stayed with their set
of numbers in the finale results.
B. Did hill 2 have any effect on the final speed? A little bit for the first set and
it was a big change for the seconde set.
C. Label the last column of the table Total height lost. Fill in this column by
subtracting the height of hill 3 from the height of hill 1.
D. What do you notice about the Total height lost in each set of trials? In both
set they stayed all 40 for the first set and all 60 for the second set.
This study source was downloaded by 100000829818949 from CourseHero.com on 01-22-2022 01:36:57 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/67220895/Lord-Alicia-23-RollerCoasterSEpdf/
Date: 8/26/20
Format all responses in blue bold font.
Student Exploration: Roller Coaster Physics
Vocabulary (refer to vocab file located on the Gizmo site for definitions): friction,
gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, momentum
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the
Gizmo.)
Sally gets onto the roller coaster car, a bit nervous already. Her
heart beats faster as the car slowly goes up the first long, steep
hill.
1. What happens at the beginning of every roller coaster ride?
At the beginning there’s always going up a ramp to
draw your excitement and get you a little scared too.
2. Does the roller coaster ever get higher than the first hill?
Explain. Yes, sometimes it does but not always.
Gizmo Warm-up: The Roller Coaster Physics Gizmo™
models a roller coaster with a toy car on a track that
leads to an egg. You can change the track or the car. For
the first experiment, use the default settings (Hill 1 = 70
cm, Hill 2 = 0 cm, Hill 3 = 0 cm, 35-g car).
1. Press Play ( ) to roll the 35-gram toy car
down the track. Does the car break the egg? It
touches the egg but did not break
2. Click Reset ( ). Set Hill 1 to 80 cm, and click Play. Does the car break the egg?
Yes.
3. Click Reset. Lower Hill 1 back to 70 cm and select the 50-gram toy car. Click Play.
Does the 50-gram car break the egg? Yes it did.
4. What factors seem to determine whether the car will break the egg? Mainly the 50
or higher G of car the more likely it will break the egg.
This study source was downloaded by 100000829818949 from CourseHero.com on 01-22-2022 01:36:57 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/67220895/Lord-Alicia-23-RollerCoasterSEpdf/
, Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Roller coaster • Click Reset.
speed • Select the 35-g toy car.
Question: What factors determine the speed of a roller coaster? Some factors
that can influence the roller coaster train speed: Temperature – The lower
the temperature the slower the train.
1. Observe: Set Hill 1 to 100 cm, Hill 2 to 0 cm, and Hill 3 to 0 cm. Be sure the
Coefficient of friction is set to 0.00. (This means that there is no friction, or
resistance to motion.)
A. Click Play. What is the final speed of the toy car? 442.9
B. Try the other cars. Does the mass of the car affect its final speed? No, they
are the same.
2. Collect data: Find the final speed of a toy car in each situation. Leave the last
column blank.
Total height
Hill 1 Hill 2 Hill 3 Final speed
lost
40 cm 0 cm 0 cm 280.1 40
40 cm 30 cm 0 cm 280.1 40
60 cm 50 cm 20 cm 280.1 40
60 cm 0 cm 0 cm 343.1 60
60 cm 45 cm 0 cm 343.1 60
90 cm 75 cm 30 cm 343.1 60
3. Analyze: Look at the data carefully. Notice that it is organized into two sets of three
trials.
A. What did each set of trials have in common? Each set stayed with their set
of numbers in the finale results.
B. Did hill 2 have any effect on the final speed? A little bit for the first set and
it was a big change for the seconde set.
C. Label the last column of the table Total height lost. Fill in this column by
subtracting the height of hill 3 from the height of hill 1.
D. What do you notice about the Total height lost in each set of trials? In both
set they stayed all 40 for the first set and all 60 for the second set.
This study source was downloaded by 100000829818949 from CourseHero.com on 01-22-2022 01:36:57 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/67220895/Lord-Alicia-23-RollerCoasterSEpdf/
