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Physics: The Physics Of Roller Coasters

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In any amusement park, the roller coaster is usually the most popular ride. It was first built in Russia during the 16th century, ever since then, the roller coaster has been a hit. With the car slowly moving up the everlasting height of the hill, high enough to touch the clouds, and then rushing downwards through many loops and twists, is enough to keep one’s adrenaline pumping. But what is the secret of the roller coaster? How is it possible for it to work this way? The answer is science.
Many may not know, but science, specifically physics, has a lot to do with roller coasters. The roller coaster is actually powered by many types of energy: mechanical, potential, and kinetic. Mechanical energy is ‘the energy acquired by the objects upon which work is done.’ (Definition of Mechanical Energy). Potential energy is ‘energy possessed by an object because of its height above the ground’ (Definition of Potential Energy). Kinetic energy is ‘the energy of motion’ (Definition of Kinetic Energy). …show more content…
When the car is at the top of the hill, it has the greatest potential energy since the marble is at its highest peak. When the marble starts to travel down, it starts to accelerate (speed up) which causes the potential to change into kinetic energy. The kinetic energy pushes up the marble up the second hill, which builds up the potential energy level. As the marble goes through the loop, it loses potential energy and gains more kinetic energy. The marble has the most kinetic energy when it’s at the bottom of the hill. In a roller coaster ride, each hill is lower than a previous one, which causes the marble’s speed to decrease throughout the

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