Question

Please explain in detail the motion in Roller Coaster Ride.

Answer 1

1. When you ride a roller coaster a motor does the work to get you up the first hill.
2. As the coaster is being pulled up the hill by the motor it is storing more and more potential energy. That potential energy is turned into kinetic energy as gravity pulls you down the first hill.
3. The farther you go down the hill, the more potential energy is changed into kinetic energy, which you feel as speed. The ride goes fastest at the bottom of the hill because more and more of the potential energy has been changed to kinetic energy.
4. As you go up the next hill, kinetic energy is changed into potential energy and the ride slows down. The higher you go, the more energy is changed and you feel the car slow down.
5. This conversion of kinetic energy to potential energy and vice versa continues as you go up and down hills for the rest of the ride.
6. The total energy does not increase or decrease; it just changes from one form to the other. Notice that the first or lift hill is the highest point in the coaster. Why is that?
7. However, some of the energy is changed into friction. Wind resistance, the rolling of the wheels, and other factors all use some of the energy.
8. A roller coaster works because of two things: gravity and the law of conservation of energy.
9. A roller coaster is similar to a slide except it is longer and you ride in a train car rather than on the seat of your pants. The wheels reduce friction: it's easier to let something roll than to let it slide.